Thomas Richards (c. 1710 – 20 March 1790) was a Welsh curate from Coychurch in the eighteenth century, best known for his 1753 Thesaurus, a Welsh-English dictionary. [1] The Welsh-English dictionary was used by Dr. Samuel Johnson in compiling A Dictionary of the English Language (1755). [2]
Born about 1710 in Glamorganshire, served for forty years the curacy of Coychurch (Llan Grallo) and Coity in that county. Richards died on 20 March 1790. [3]
In 1746 Richards published a Welsh translation of a tract on the Cruelties and Persecutions of the Church of Rome, by Philip Morant. His major work was Antiquæ Linguæ Britannicæ Thesaurus, Bristol, 1753, a Welsh-English Dictionary, with a Welsh grammar prefixed, dedicated to Frederick, Prince of Wales. Based mainly on the work of John Davies and Edward Llwyd, his dictionary was fuller than any which had yet appeared. [3] Other sources were William Wotton and Richard Morris. [4] It has been suggested that Richards borrowed manuscripts from John Bradford. [5] A second edition appeared at Trefriw in 1815, a third in the same year at Dolgellau, and a fourth at Merthyr Tydfil in 1838. [3]
Richards was posthumously credited with contributions to the edition of William Evans's English-Welsh dictionary published in 1812. [4]
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1790.
Coychurch is a small village that sits between Pencoed and Bridgend in Wales, bordering with Bridgend Industrial Estate, where many residents are employed. It is part of the community of Coychurch Lower.
John Walters (1721–1797) was a Welsh cleric from Glamorgan in the eighteenth century. He wrote a couple of manifestos, including A Dissertation on the Welsh Language (1770), in which he praised the Welsh language. He was a noted lexicographer, publishing An English–Welsh Dictionary in fifteen parts.
This article is about the particular significance of the decade 1700–1709 to Wales and its people.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1790 to Wales and its people.
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Events from the year 1767 in Wales.
Events from the year 1760 in Wales.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1759 to Wales and its people.
Events from the year 1755 in Wales.
Events from the year 1754 in Wales.
Events from the year 1753 in Wales.
The New College at Hackney was a dissenting academy set up in Hackney in April 1786 by the social and political reformer Richard Price and others; Hackney at that time was a village on the outskirts of London, by Unitarians. It was in existence from 1786 to 1796. The writer William Hazlitt was among its pupils, sent aged 15 to prepare for the Unitarian ministry, and some of the best-known Dissenting intellectuals spent time on its staff.
William Richards (1643–1705) was an English clergyman and author.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1725 to Wales and its people.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1710 to Wales and its people.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1705 to Wales and its people.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : "Richards, Thomas (1710?-1790)". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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