William Camden

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William Camden

by or after Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
oil on panel, 17th century, based on a work of 1609
22 1/4 in. x 16 1/2 in. (565 mm x 419 mm)
Transferred from The British Museum, London, 1879
Primary Collection
NPG 528

Sitterback to top

  • William Camden (1551-1623), Antiquary and historian. Sitter associated with 25 portraits.

Artistback to top

This portraitback to top

The Latin motto on this portrait can be translated: in weight, not number.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Cooper, Tarnya, Elizabeth I & Her People, 2013 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 10 October 2013 - 5 January 2014), p. 211
  • Joan Evans, A history of the Society of Antiquaries, 1956, p. facing p. 1
  • Rogers, Malcolm, Master Drawings from the National Portrait Gallery, 1993 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 August to 23 October 1994), p. 185
  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 98
  • Strong, Roy, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 1969, p. 36

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1609back to top

Current affairs

James I, Queen Anne and their children attend the inauguration of The New Exchange, a shopping centre built by Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury in the Strand. The opening underlined Salisbury's dominance in the development of this affluent area of London.
Soldier, Sir Francis Vere, is buried in Westminster Abbey.


Art and science

Historian and poet, Samuel Daniel, completes the last book of his epic poem, Civil Wars, a history of the hostilities between the royal houses of Lancaster and York. It was one of Daniel's greatest literary achievements.
Cornelius Drebbel invents the thermostat.

International

Promoted by administrator, Sir William Parsons, in the aftermath of the Nine Years' War, the Plantation of Ulster encourages English and Scottish Protestants to settle in Ireland and establish towns on land confiscated from Irish Catholics.
English castaways, destined for Virginia, are shipwrecked on Bermuda to become its first colonizers.


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