Capel Lofft (sometimes spelledCapell; 14 November 1751 – 26 May 1824) was a British lawyer, writer andamateur astronomer.[1]
Capel Lofft | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by William Ridley, 1802 | |
| Born | (1751-11-14)November 14, 1751 London, England |
| Died | 26 May 1824(1824-05-26) (aged 72) Moncalieri,Piedmont,Italy |
| Occupation | Lawyer, poet, writer, astronomer |
| Notable works |
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Born in London, he was educated atEton College andPeterhouse, Cambridge.[2] He trained as a lawyer atLincoln's Inn, where he wascalled to the bar (qualified as abarrister) in 1775. In addition to his legal practice, he became a prolificwriter on the law and political topics. In politics, he was an advocate of parliamentary and other reforms, identifying with theFoxite Whig faction. He also engaged in voluminous correspondence with prominentauthors.
His legal career was ended by a case inStanton, Suffolk. On the night of 3 October 1799, Sarah Lloyd, a 22 year old servant, was incited by asuitor to steal 40 shillings. She was caught, tried, and sentenced todeath by hanging. Capel Lofft fought[why?] strenuously but unsuccessfully for a reprieve. Lloyd was to be executed on 23 April 1800 inBury St Edmunds. Lofft accompanied the cart transporting Lloyd on that morning, holding anumbrella over Lloyd to shield her from rain, and remained by her side until she was hanged. The authorities[which?] took a dim view of Lofft's fight on Lloyd's behalf,[why?] and he wasstruck off the Roll (list of qualified lawyers).[3]
Lofft wrote the preface to poet and former QuakerThomas 'Clio' Rickman'sAn Ode, in Celebration of the Emancipation Of The Blacks of Saint Domingo, November 29, 1803.[4][5] He commendedToussaint Louverture – "of whom Posterity will know how to speak" – and hoped that "a Nation [Haiti] which has emerged into Freedom should prove itself capable and worthy of the blessings [sic] by its use of it".[4] He became the patron ofRobert Bloomfield, the author ofThe Farmer's Boy, and was responsible for the publication of that work.Byron, in a note to hisEnglish Bards and Scotch Reviewers, ridiculed Lofft as "theMaecenas of shoemakers and preface-writer general to distressed versemen; a kind ofgratis accoucheur to those who wish to be delivered of rhyme, but do not know how to bring forth."
Lofft had an interest inastronomy and is known to have observed severaltransits andeclipses. These include thetransits of Mercury on 7 May 1799 and 9 November 1802,[6][7] thesolar eclipses on16 June 1806 and19 November 1816,[8][9] and thelunar eclipses on 4 December 1797 and 10 June 1816.[10][11]
The deaths of Lofft's father and uncle in 1811 left him with a large property andfamily estate.[citation needed] A supporter ofNapoleon, he wroteletters to the editor of theMorning Chronicle (31 July and 10 August 1815) opposing the Government's decision to sendNapoleon toSt Helena. Lofft attempted to serve a writ ofhabeas corpus (a legal instrument againstwrongful imprisonment) while the captive Napoleon was being held aboard a ship inPlymouth.[citation needed]
In 1816 Lofft moved to Europe for his daughters' education.[12] He died in 1824 aged 72 atMontcalieri, nearTurin.[13] His 'law and miscellaneous' library was auctioned in London by R. H. Evans (along with the books of Henry Cooper Esq) on 8 June 1825. A copy of the catalogue is at Cambridge University Library (shelfmark Munby.c.129(9)).
Lofft married Anne, daughter ofHenry Emlyn, in 1778.[14] Their fourth sonCapell Lofft the younger (1806–1873), was also a writer.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lofft, Capel".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 862–863.