John Price was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 librarian

Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

 and Anglican

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

, who was in charge of the Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

 at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 for 45 years.

Life

Price was born on 1 March 1735 in Llandegla

Llandegla

Llandegla or Llandegla-yn-Iâl is a village and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. In the 2001 census, the community had a population of 494.- Name :...

, Denbighshire

Denbighshire

Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...

, Wales, where his father was the rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

. He was educated in Llangollen

Llangollen

Llangollen is a small town and community in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, situated on the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains. It has a population of 3,412.-History:...

 (his father having become the vicar

Vicar

In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...

 there in 1737) and at Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

, where he matriculated

Matriculation

Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

 in 1754, obtained a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1757 and a Master of Arts degree in 1760, the year in which he was ordained. He was initially appointed janitor of the Bodleian library

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

 by Humphrey Owen

Humphrey Owen

Humphrey Owen was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1763 to his death.Owen studied at Jesus College from 1718 to 1722 and was elected as a Fellow in 1725. He was Rector of Tredington 1744–63. In 1747 he was appointed Bodley's Librarian, and continued to hold this post when appointed...

 in 1757, becoming sub-librarian in 1761. He was acting librarian from 1765 to 1767 when Owen was Principal of Jesus College, succeeding as librarian upon Owen's death in 1768 after an election (in which he defeated William Cleaver

William Cleaver

William Cleaver was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford and bishop of three sees.-Life:He was the eldest son of the Rev. W. Cleaver, master of a private school at Twyford in Buckinghamshire, and brother of Archbishop Euseby Cleaver. He was at Magdalen College,...

, who later became Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford

Brasenose College, Oxford

Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...

 and Bishop of Chester

Bishop of Chester

The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...

).

He remained librarian until his death in the night of 11 to 12 August 1813, a period of 45 years, but was criticised during this period for neglecting his duty and the manner in which he organised the library. He also held various appointments as a parish priest in England and in Wales, and wrote some works such as a Short Account of Holyhead in the Isle of Anglesea (1783). His collection of books, manuscripts, maps and prints took five days to sell after his death.