Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744 1817) was a noted Irish educationalist, engineer and inventor. This two-volume autobiography, begun in 1808, was completed by his novelist daughter Maria, and published in 1820. Edgeworth's interest in education is evidenced by his reflections about how his childhood shaped his character and later life. Volume 1, written by Edgeworth himself and covering the period to 1781, reveals that his interest in science began early; he was shown an orrery (a moving model of the solar system) at the age of seven. As a young man, Edgeworth attended university in Dublin and...

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744 1817), educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was known for his significant mechanical inventions. He was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt. However, Edgeworth was also greatly interested in education: drawing on his own experiences of raising twenty children (by his four wives), in 1788 he published, with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth, his famous two-volume Practical Education (also reissued in this series). The work was very influential, and led to...

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744 1817), educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt, and was known for his significant mechanical inventions. However, Edgeworth's real interest was education: in this 1788 two-volume work, written with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth (1768 1849), he draws on his own experience of raising twenty children (by his four wives), from which the work derives its authority and innovative character. The work was very influential,...

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744 1817), educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt, and was known for his significant mechanical inventions. However, Edgeworth's real interest was education: in this 1788 two-volume work, written with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth (1768 1849), he draws on his own experience of raising twenty children (by his four wives), from which the work derives its authority and innovative character. The work was very influential,...