Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, volume 3.djvu/174

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Raverty
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Raverty

archæological study by examining the bells of the churches near his home at Worlington and by contributing to Parker's 'Ecclesiastical History of Suffolk' in 1854. He served from 1881 till his death on the committee of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society, which he joined in 1871, was a vice-president of the Suffolk Institute of Archæology, and was elected F.S.A. on 23 April 1891. The best English campanologist of his time, he was president of the Norwich Diocesan Association of Ringers, and published books on 'The Church Bells of Cambridgeshire' (Lowestoft, 1869; 2nd edit. Camb. Antiq. Soc. 1881), 'The Church Bells of Suffolk' (1890), and ’The Bells of England' (in the 'Antiquary's Books' series, 1906). He died at Fressingfield vicarage on 20 Sept. 1906, and was buried in the churchyard, A reredos was erected to his memory in the church. His pupils at Yarmouth presented him with his portrait by Alfred Lys Baldry (now belonging to his eldest son at Fressingfield), and a tower at Yarmouth school commemorated his successful headmastership. His fine library of county and bell literature was sold at Fressingfield in Nov. 1906.

He married on 19 March 1860, at Mildenhall parish church, Suffolk, Fanny, youngest daughter of Robert Homer Harris of Botesdale, and had, with two daughters, seven sons, of whom three took holy orders.

Besides the works already mentioned, separate sermons, and contributions to periodicals, including 'Emmanuel College Magazine,' Raven published 'The History of Suffolk' (in the 'Popular County Histories' series, 1895), and 'Mathematics made easy: Lectures on Geometry and Algebra' (1897). He also compiled the 'Early Man' section of the 'Victoria County History of Suffolk,' and projected a volume, 'Sidelights on the Revolution Period,' for which he transcribed Archbishop Sancroft's commonplace book.

[Athenæum, 29 Sept. 1906; Emmanuel Coll. Mag., vol. xvii. no. 1; private information.]

T. C. H.

RAVERTY, HENRY GEORGE (1825–1906), soldier and Oriental scholar, born at Falmouth on 31 May 1825, was the son of Peter Raverty of co. Tyrone, a surgeon in the navy. His mother belonged to the family of Drown of Falmouth. Educated at Falmouth and Penzance, at fifteen or sixteen he showed an inclination for the sea, but a short voyage as a passenger from Penzance disillusioned him, and he resolved to become a soldier. The interest of Sir Charles Lemon secured him a cadetship. and he sailed for India. Appointed to the Welsh fusiliers, he very soon (in 1843) exchanged into the 3rd Bombay native infantry. With his regiment he was present at the siege of Multan in 1848; served in Gujarat, and in the first frontier expedition in 1850 against tribes on the Suwat border. For his services at Multan and Gujarat he received a medal with two clasps, and a medal with one clasp for the north-west frontier. Raverty held a civil appointment as assistant-commissioner in the Punjab from 1852 to 1859. He was promoted major in 1863 and retired from the army next year.

Settling in England, first near Ottery St. Mary, and afterwards at Grampound Road, Cornwall, Raverty pursued till the end of his long life various Oriental studies which he had begun in India. Although he lacked academic training, he was gifted with scholarly Instincts, and devoted himself to linguistic, historical, geographical, and ethnological study on scientific lines. In India he first learned Hindustani, Persian, Gujarati, and Marathi, and for his knowledge of these languages gained the 'high proficiency' prize of 1000 rupees from his government. A 'Thesaurus of English Hindustani Technical Terms' (1859) proved his linguistic aptitude in Hindustani. His transference to the north-west frontier at Peshawar in 1849 had meanwhile directed his chief attention to the Pushtu or Afghan language, history, and ethnology. To the 'Transactions' of the Geographical Society of Bombay, Raverty contributed in 1851 'An Account of the City and Province of Peshawar,' illustrated with maps and sepia sketches. In order to acquire practical knowledge of the Pushtu tongue he had to collect, arrange, and systematise almost the whole of the needful grammatical and lexical material. Raverty thus became 'the father of the study of Afghan.' His fiirst efforts proved comprehensive and final. In 1855 he published his 'Grammar of the Pushto or Language of the Afghans,' which Dr. Dom, the eminent orientalist of St. Petersburg, warmly commended. In 1860, besides a second and improved edition of the Grammar (3rd edit. 1867), he published his monumental 'Dictionary of the Pushto or Afghan Language' (2nd edit. 1867), and his admirable anthology of Pushtu prose and poetry entitled 'Gulshan i Roh.' He was as well acquainted with the Pushtu literature as with the spoken language. In 1862 there followed 'Selections from the Poetry of the Afghans from the Sixteenth to the Nine-