Identity:

Charles Edward Cutts Birch Appleton was the proprietor and editor of The Academy. He was the second son of the Rev. Robert Appleton, the headmaster of Reading Grammar School.

Life:

Appleton was educated in classics at St. John's College, Oxford, graduating in 1863 with a B.A., and in 1871 with a D.C.L. He also studied in Germany. In 1867 he was appointed lecturer in philosophy at St. John's, Oxford. He founded the literary periodical the Academy, 'a Monthly Record of Literature, Learning, Science, and Art', in October 1869, remaining its editor until his death. Appleton was also behind the 'Association for the Organisation of Academical Study', the first and only meeting of which was held in London on 16 November 1872. He enjoyed playing host to London society in his home on the edge of Hampstead Heath. In the autumn of 1875 he visited America, and became involved with the question of international copyright. He contributed two essays to a volume entitled 'Essays on the Endowment of Research, by Various Writers' (1876). His 1874-8 letters to Oscar Browning can be found at King's College Archive Centre at Cambridge University.

In 1877 Appleton was among those invited by JW to a private view of Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room (YMSM 178) at F. R. Leyland's home at 49 Princes Gate (#09604).

Bibliography:

Appleton, John H. and A. H. Sayce, Dr. Appleton: His Life and Literary Relics, 1881; Historical Manuscripts Comission, National Register of Archives, http://www.hmc.gov.uk/NRA (accessed 2003); Dictionary of National Biography Online, Oxford, 1997 (accessed 2003).