John Burke (12 November 1786 – 27 March 1848)[1][note 1] was an Irish genealogist, and the original publisher of Burke's Peerage. He was the father of Sir Bernard Burke, a British officer of arms and genealogist.
He was the elder son of Peter Burke of Elm Hall, Tipperary,[2] by his first wife, Anne, daughter and coheiress of Matthew Dowdall, M.D., of Mullingar.[3] In accordance with a family arrangement, his younger brother Joseph succeeded to the estate at the father's death on 13 January 1836.[3] The Burke family were descendants of the Earl of Clanricarde via Dominick Burke (born 1664), of Clondagoff Castle, County Galway. Later generations have lived at Auberies, Bulmer, Essex.[1][4][5]
John Burke early engaged in literary work in London, but afterwards devoted himself to genealogical studies, and in 1826 he issued a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom. For the first time such a work was arranged alphabetically, as opposed to in the Ahnentafel or genealogical-table style, and peers and baronets were treated together. The convenience of its method at once gave it great popularity.[3] The Peerage was republished at irregular intervals until 1847, when it reached its ninth edition. From that date it has been issued annually. A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance, was first published by Burke in 1831 (3rd edit. 1846); later editions, prepared by Sir J. B. Burke, appealed in 1866 and 1883.[3]
In 1831 Burke also issued what was intended to be the first of a series of annual handbooks, entitled The Official Calendar for 1831, but the series was not continued. Between 1833 and 1838, he published A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, in four volumes; another edition was issued in 1838; and a third edition in two volumes between 1843 and 1849.[3] The title was altered in the later editions to A Dictionary of the Landed Gentry and a supplementary volume appeared in 1844, containing corrigenda and a general index. It is known colloquially as Burke's Landed Gentry.
Burke was also the author of:
Burke was also the editor of a short-lived periodical, The Patrician.[3]
He married his cousin Mary O'Reilly (died 1846), second daughter of Bernard O'Reilly of Ballymorris, County Longford, Ireland. Mary is listed as one of the lost graves on the Burdett-Coutts memorial in Old St. Pancras Churchyard. By his wife he had two sons:[3]
Burke died at Aachen (formerly known as Aix-la-Chapelle) in Germany on 27 March 1848.[1][7]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2015) |
A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank but Uninvested with Heritable Honours, 4 volumes (1833–1838) (subsequently published as Burke's Landed Gentry):
A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland, by John Burke and John Bernard Burke,