Joseph Gillow was an English Roman Catholic antiquary and bio-bibliographer, "the Plutarch of the English Catholics".

Born to an English Roman Catholic family, Joseph Gillow was educated at St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw. In 1878 he married Ella McKenna, a brewer's daughter, securing him a private income allowing him to pursue his antiquarian interests.

He published various researches into the history of Catholicism in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, but his greatest achievement was the Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary of the English Catholics (5 vols, 1885-1902). Unfortunately, to fit his material into the five volumes allotted him by his publishers, Gillow needed to abbreviate the later volumes. No index was available until 1986.

Gillow was appointed honorary recorder of the Catholic Record Society

Catholic Record Society

The Catholic Record Society , "the premier Catholic historical society in the United Kingdom", founded in 1904, is a scholarly society devoted to the study of Reformation and post-Reformation Catholicism in England and Wales. Particularly active members in its early years were Joseph Gillow, J. H....

at its foundation in 1904, and was a frequent contributor to their transactions.

External links