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H. J. R. Murray

January 01, 1970

For other people named Harold Murray, see Harold Murray (disambiguation).

Harold James Ruthven Murray (24 June 1868 – 16 May 1955) was a British educationalist, inspector of schools, and prominent chess historian. His book, A History of Chess, is widely regarded as the most authoritative and comprehensive history of the game.[1]

H. J. R. Murray
Murray in 1907
BornHarold James Ruthven Murray
(1868-06-24)24 June 1868
Peckham, London, England
Died16 May 1955(1955-05-16) (aged 86)
England
NationalityBritish
EducationMill Hill
Balliol College
Spouse
Kate Crosthwaite
​
(m. 1897)​
RelativesJames Murray (father)

Early life and education edit

Murray, the eldest of eleven children, was born near Peckham Rye in Peckham, London. The son of Sir James Murray, the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, he attended school at Mill Hill and, in his spare time, helped his father produce the first edition of the OED. By the time Harold had finished school and was preparing to leave for university, he had produced over 27,000 quotations that later appeared in the OED.

He won a place at Balliol College, Oxford where in 1890 he graduated with a first class degree in mathematics.[2] He became an assistant master at Queen's College, Taunton where he learned to play chess. Later he was assistant master at Carlisle Grammar School, and in 1896 became headmaster of Ormskirk Grammar School in Lancashire. On 4 January 1897, he married Kate Maitland Crosthwaite. In 1901, he was appointed a school inspector, and in 1928 he became a member of the Board of Education.

Murray was a champion of the left-handed, defending children against the attempts of schools to make them conform by using their right hands.[2][3]

History of Chess edit

In 1897, Murray was encouraged by Baron von der Lasa (who had just completed his book on the history of European chess) to research the history of chess. Murray gained access to the largest chess library in the world, that of John G. White of Cleveland, Ohio, and also used the collection of J. W. Rimington Wilson in England.[4] The White collection contained some Arabic manuscripts, so Murray learned Arabic, and German. The research took him 13 years, during which time he contributed articles on aspects of chess history to the British Chess Magazine and the Deutsches Wochenschach. In 1913 he published A History of Chess, proposing the theory that chess originated in India.[5] This remains the most widely accepted theory. (See Origins of chess.)

Although A History of Chess was recognised as the standard reference on the subject, its scholarly approach and great length (900 pages) made it inaccessible to most chess players. Murray began a shorter work on chess history written in a more popular style; it remained unfinished at his death and was completed by B. Goulding Brown and Harry Golombek and published in 1963 as A Short History of Chess.

Murray was the father of educationalist and biographer K. M. Elisabeth Murray and the archaeologist Kenneth Murray.[2]

Other areas of research edit

In 1952 Murray published A History of Board Games other than Chess. His work there on other games has received some criticism. Notably, he was skeptical of the consensus history of the game Go; he wrote that weiqi (the Chinese term for Go) dated to 1000 AD at the earliest, and wrote that Chinese historians had exaggerated the antiquity of the game as well as their inventions in general. Historians of Go have not agreed with Murray's eccentric position; archaeological evidence (some of it post-dating Murray's work, in fairness) exists of weiqi boards from 200 AD as well as pictures of a Go player dated to around 750 AD, as does background evidence of recorded stories, anecdotes, manuals, and so on that all date long before 1000 AD.[6]

A History of Board Games Other Than Chess has been nonetheless praised as the first attempt to develop a "scheme for the classification of board games".[7]

Bibliography edit

Published works edit

  • A History of Chess (London: Oxford University Press, 1913)
    • A History of Chess (Northampton, MA: Benjamin Press, 1985) ISBN 0-936317-01-9
    • A History of Chess (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012, paperback reprint of the 1913 edition) ISBN 978-1-62087-062-4
  • A History of Board Games other than Chess (1952) ISBN 9780198274018
  • A Short History of Chess (1963, posthumously) OCLC 906120511

Unpublished works edit

  • The Dilaram Arrangement
  • The Dilaram position in European Chess
  • A History of Draughts
  • A History of Heyshott
  • The Early History of the Knight's Tour[8]
  • The Knight's Problem[8]
  • The Classification of Knight's Tours

Most of his unpublished works are held in the Bodleian Libraries of Oxford University.[8][9]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Eales, Richard (31 January 2002). Chess: The History of a Game. Hardinge Simpole Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 9780951375730.
  2. ^ a b c Brewer, Charlotte. . Examining the OED. Hertford College, Oxford: Charlotte Brewer. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  3. ^ Murray, WGR (1943), Murray the dictionary maker: a brief account of Sir James A. H. Murray... the chief editor of The Oxford (or new) English dictionary, Wynberg, Cape [SA]: Rustica Press.
  4. ^ "Edmond Hoyle, Gent.: The J. W. Rimington-Wilson Library (Part 1)". 7 September 2012.
  5. ^ "On the origins of chess (2/7)". 19 May 2018.
  6. ^ Fairbairn, John (2007). "Go in China". In Finkel, Irving L. (ed.). Ancient Board Games in Perspective. The British Museum Press. p. 133. ISBN 9780714111537.
  7. ^ "SFE: Board Game". sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Collection: Papers of H.J.R. Murray relating to knight's tours | Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts". archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Collection: H.J.R. Murray Papers | Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts". archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.

References edit

External links edit

 
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Harold Murray

January 01, 1970
murray, other, people, named, harold, murray, harold, murray, disambiguation, harold, james, ruthven, murray, june, 1868, 1955, british, educationalist, inspector, schools, prominent, chess, historian, book, history, chess, widely, regarded, most, authoritativ. For other people named Harold Murray see Harold Murray disambiguation Harold James Ruthven Murray 24 June 1868 16 May 1955 was a British educationalist inspector of schools and prominent chess historian His book A History of Chess is widely regarded as the most authoritative and comprehensive history of the game 1 H J R MurrayMurray in 1907BornHarold James Ruthven Murray 1868 06 24 24 June 1868Peckham London EnglandDied16 May 1955 1955 05 16 aged 86 EnglandNationalityBritishEducationMill HillBalliol CollegeSpouseKate Crosthwaite m 1897 wbr RelativesJames Murray father Contents 1 Early life and education 2 History of Chess 3 Other areas of research 4 Bibliography 4 1 Published works 4 2 Unpublished works 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksEarly life and education editMurray the eldest of eleven children was born near Peckham Rye in Peckham London The son of Sir James Murray the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary he attended school at Mill Hill and in his spare time helped his father produce the first edition of the OED By the time Harold had finished school and was preparing to leave for university he had produced over 27 000 quotations that later appeared in the OED He won a place at Balliol College Oxford where in 1890 he graduated with a first class degree in mathematics 2 He became an assistant master at Queen s College Taunton where he learned to play chess Later he was assistant master at Carlisle Grammar School and in 1896 became headmaster of Ormskirk Grammar School in Lancashire On 4 January 1897 he married Kate Maitland Crosthwaite In 1901 he was appointed a school inspector and in 1928 he became a member of the Board of Education Murray was a champion of the left handed defending children against the attempts of schools to make them conform by using their right hands 2 3 History of Chess editIn 1897 Murray was encouraged by Baron von der Lasa who had just completed his book on the history of European chess to research the history of chess Murray gained access to the largest chess library in the world that of John G White of Cleveland Ohio and also used the collection of J W Rimington Wilson in England 4 The White collection contained some Arabic manuscripts so Murray learned Arabic and German The research took him 13 years during which time he contributed articles on aspects of chess history to the British Chess Magazine and the Deutsches Wochenschach In 1913 he published A History of Chess proposing the theory that chess originated in India 5 This remains the most widely accepted theory See Origins of chess Although A History of Chess was recognised as the standard reference on the subject its scholarly approach and great length 900 pages made it inaccessible to most chess players Murray began a shorter work on chess history written in a more popular style it remained unfinished at his death and was completed by B Goulding Brown and Harry Golombek and published in 1963 as A Short History of Chess Murray was the father of educationalist and biographer K M Elisabeth Murray and the archaeologist Kenneth Murray 2 Other areas of research editIn 1952 Murray published A History of Board Games other than Chess His work there on other games has received some criticism Notably he was skeptical of the consensus history of the game Go he wrote that weiqi the Chinese term for Go dated to 1000 AD at the earliest and wrote that Chinese historians had exaggerated the antiquity of the game as well as their inventions in general Historians of Go have not agreed with Murray s eccentric position archaeological evidence some of it post dating Murray s work in fairness exists of weiqi boards from 200 AD as well as pictures of a Go player dated to around 750 AD as does background evidence of recorded stories anecdotes manuals and so on that all date long before 1000 AD 6 A History of Board Games Other Than Chess has been nonetheless praised as the first attempt to develop a scheme for the classification of board games 7 Bibliography editPublished works edit A History of Chess London Oxford University Press 1913 A History of Chess Northampton MA Benjamin Press 1985 ISBN 0 936317 01 9 A History of Chess New York Skyhorse Publishing 2012 paperback reprint of the 1913 edition ISBN 978 1 62087 062 4 A History of Board Games other than Chess 1952 ISBN 9780198274018 A Short History of Chess 1963 posthumously OCLC 906120511 Unpublished works edit The Dilaram Arrangement The Dilaram position in European Chess A History of Draughts A History of Heyshott The Early History of the Knight s Tour 8 The Knight s Problem 8 The Classification of Knight s Tours Most of his unpublished works are held in the Bodleian Libraries of Oxford University 8 9 Notes edit Eales Richard 31 January 2002 Chess The History of a Game Hardinge Simpole Publishing p 18 ISBN 9780951375730 a b c Brewer Charlotte Katherine Maud Elisabeth Murray 1909 98 Examining the OED Hertford College Oxford Charlotte Brewer Archived from the original on 22 November 2017 Retrieved 30 May 2011 Murray WGR 1943 Murray the dictionary maker a brief account of Sir James A H Murray the chief editor of The Oxford or new English dictionary Wynberg Cape SA Rustica Press Edmond Hoyle Gent The J W Rimington Wilson Library Part 1 7 September 2012 On the origins of chess 2 7 19 May 2018 Fairbairn John 2007 Go in China In Finkel Irving L ed Ancient Board Games in Perspective The British Museum Press p 133 ISBN 9780714111537 SFE Board Game sf encyclopedia com Retrieved 21 August 2022 a b c Collection Papers of H J R Murray relating to knight s tours Bodleian Archives amp Manuscripts archives bodleian ox ac uk Retrieved 30 May 2020 Collection H J R Murray Papers Bodleian Archives amp Manuscripts archives bodleian ox ac uk Retrieved 30 May 2020 References editBrace Edward R 1977 An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess Hamlyn Publishing Group p 194 ISBN 1 55521 394 4 Hooper David Whyld Kenneth 1992 The Oxford Companion to Chess 2nd ed Oxford Oxford University Press pp 265 66 ISBN 0 19 280049 3 Olson Calvin 2006 The Chess Kings Volume 1 Trafford p 157 ISBN 1 4120 3907 X annotated bibliography Sunnucks Anne 1970 Encyclopaedia of Chess New York St Martin s Press pp 312 13 LCCN 78106371External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Harold Murray A History of Chess by H J R Murray 1913 on Google Books Chess Cafe column by Tim Harding about Harold Murray The Chess Historian H J R Murray by Edward Winter H J R Murray Papers at the Oxford University Bodleian Libraries Papers of H J R Murray relating to knight s tours at the Oxford University Bodleian Libraries Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title H J R Murray amp oldid 1177889988, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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