About John Wesley Hales
Lived 1836 – 1914 (aged 77). John Wesley Hales was a British scholar.
John Wesley Hales (Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, 5 October 1836 - London, 19 May 1914), was a British scholar and man of letters.
Life John Wesley Hales was educated at Louth grammar school, Glasgow High School, Durham School, Glasgow University and Christ's College, Cambridge, which elected him to a fellowship. He was for some time an assistant master at Marlborough College under George Granville Bradley, as well as examiner at King's College London, and the universities of Wales, New Zealand and Cambridge, and from 1889 to 1893 Clark lecturer on English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge. Until 1903, when he retired, he was professor of English literature at King's College London.
In May 1901 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge.
He married Henrietta Trafford, daughter of judge Richard Leigh Trafford and Eliza Frances Tarleton, in 1867.
Works Hales published 109 works in 300 publications in 5 languages. A selection is shown below. Bell's Handbooks of English Literature (general editor) Milton's Areopagitica (1874) Percy Folio Manuscript (1867-8) (co-editor) Longer English Poems (1872, 1884) (editor) Notes and Essays on Shakespeare (1884) Essays and Notes on Shakespeare (1892) Folia Litteraria: Essays and Notes on English Literature (1893) Snell's Age of Chaucer and Seccombe (introduction) Allen's Age of Shakespeare The Eve of St. Agnes by John Keats with Philological and Explanatory Notes by J.W. Hales (1889)
Contributions to the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 William Langland
Edited works Complete Works of Edmund Spenser: A Variorum Edition (1893)
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Important facts
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Frequently asked questions
Who was John Wesley Hales?
British editor (1836-1914)
When was John Wesley Hales born?
John Wesley Hales was born on 5 October 1836 in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
When did John Wesley Hales die?
John Wesley Hales died on 19 May 1914 in London.
What was John Wesley Hales's occupation?
John Wesley Hales was a scholar.
What nationality was John Wesley Hales?
John Wesley Hales was British.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: John Wesley Hales
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). John Wesley Hales. https://biography.guide/john-wesley-hales/
MLA: "John Wesley Hales." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/john-wesley-hales/.
Chicago: "John Wesley Hales." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/john-wesley-hales/.
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