Occupations
The 671 distinct occupations of EE's correspondents cover an extraordinarily wide range, from emperors and presidents to servants and peasants.
They include people in the areas of science (physicists, botanists, astronomers), business (booksellers, shopkeepers, shipowners), the law (judges, legal writers, notaries), the armed forces (naval captains, militia officers), the arts (miniaturists, violinists) and literature (poets, playwrights, travel writers) — and the determined oddities of human life (madmen, eccentrics, inventors)…
A taste of more unusual occupations of current EE correspondents includes:
- alchemist
- businesswoman
- café owner
- cow-keeper
- cricketer
- hatter
- nurseryman
- pewterer
- riding master
- secret agent
- amateur surgeon
- typefounder
- upholsterer
...and even a jolly undertaker
...and even a jolly undertaker
William Augustus Downs (fl. 1803–1812), English undertaker, militia officer — "a fellow of infinite humour". He served as major of the St James's Loyal Volunteers (a militia regiment founded in 1797) and was known as "Fat Major Downs"; his friend, the playwright George Colman the younger (1762–1836 — also in EE), described him in a song as "Two Single Gentlemen rolled into One".
Searching by occupation
You can search people by occupation on the Correspondents search page. But don't forget to try the Notes search page too, as thousands of notes contain biographical information about both correspondents and other people mentioned in letters.