George Bullen was born in Ireland, probably at Clonakilty, one of three known sons (and three daughters) of Walter Bullen, a customs officer, and his wife, Anne. He is recorded as being born on the 27th November, 1816 or 1817, however the inscription on his gravestone has him dying in October 1894, aged 76.
He was educated at St Saviour's Grammar School, Southwark, in London and after initially giving private tuition he joined the British Museum in 1838 as a supernumerary assistant in the Department of Printed Books, where he would work for over fifty years. His arrival coincided with the Library's move into its new building in Bloomsbury and one of his earliest tasks was to assist in arranging the books on the shelves.
Careeredit
Bullen became a Permanent Assistant in 1849, in 1866 he became one of two Assistant Keepers of the Department of Printed Books (also becoming superintendent of the Reading Room) and in 1875 he became Keeper of Printed Books, a post he was to hold for fifteen years. On his retirement as Keeper in 1890 he was succeeded by Richard Garnett.
Bullen was said to have had a genial temper. He was a regular contributor to The Athenaeum and was a vice-president of the Library Association, taking a prominent part in many of its annual congresses. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1877 and received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow in 1889. He was created CB in 1890.
He married Eliza Mary Martin (1823/4-1887) on 10 May 1851 at St George's, Bloomsbury and they had at least two sons, one of whom, Arthur (1857-1920), became a successful editor of Elizabethan works and a publisher. The year after Eliza's death he married Amy Reynolds (1862/3-1954), the daughter of a Bristol iron merchant.
Bullen died at his house, 62 Abingdon Road, Kensington, on 10 October 1894, and was buried with his first wife and one of his sisters on the east side of Highgate Cemetery.
Referencesedit
Sourcesedit
Sidney Lee's article, revised by P. R. Harris, in the Dictionary of National Biography (2004)[1]
george, bullen, librarian, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, george, bullen, librarian, news, newspape. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources George Bullen librarian news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message George Bullen 1816 17 or 18 1894 was a librarian and Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 References 5 SourcesEarly life editGeorge Bullen was born in Ireland probably at Clonakilty one of three known sons and three daughters of Walter Bullen a customs officer and his wife Anne He is recorded as being born on the 27th November 1816 or 1817 however the inscription on his gravestone has him dying in October 1894 aged 76 He was educated at St Saviour s Grammar School Southwark in London and after initially giving private tuition he joined the British Museum in 1838 as a supernumerary assistant in the Department of Printed Books where he would work for over fifty years His arrival coincided with the Library s move into its new building in Bloomsbury and one of his earliest tasks was to assist in arranging the books on the shelves Career editBullen became a Permanent Assistant in 1849 in 1866 he became one of two Assistant Keepers of the Department of Printed Books also becoming superintendent of the Reading Room and in 1875 he became Keeper of Printed Books a post he was to hold for fifteen years On his retirement as Keeper in 1890 he was succeeded by Richard Garnett Bullen was said to have had a genial temper He was a regular contributor to The Athenaeum and was a vice president of the Library Association taking a prominent part in many of its annual congresses He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1877 and received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow in 1889 He was created CB in 1890 Personal life edit nbsp Family Grave of George Bullen librarian in Highgate Cemetery He married Eliza Mary Martin 1823 4 1887 on 10 May 1851 at St George s Bloomsbury and they had at least two sons one of whom Arthur 1857 1920 became a successful editor of Elizabethan works and a publisher The year after Eliza s death he married Amy Reynolds 1862 3 1954 the daughter of a Bristol iron merchant Bullen died at his house 62 Abingdon Road Kensington on 10 October 1894 and was buried with his first wife and one of his sisters on the east side of Highgate Cemetery References editSources editSidney Lee s article revised by P R Harris in the Dictionary of National Biography 2004 1 Lee S amp Harris P Bullen George 1816x18 1894 librarian Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Retrieved 30 Jan 2022 from https www oxforddnb com wikipedialibrary idm oclc org view 10 1093 ref odnb 9780198614128 001 0001 odnb 9780198614128 e 3912 version 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Bullen librarian amp oldid 1069190558, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
