“As there is something pleasingly interesting, to many, in tracing so great a man through all his different habitations, I shall, before this work is concluded, present my readers with an exact list of his lodgings and houses,” – James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson, 1791
Selection criteria
To feature in the map, individuals must meet the following criteria:
- Must be dead
- Must have lived in Camden. Working in the borough, visiting friends, staying in a hotel, or even being buried in Camden doesn’t count.
- A published biography should exist, either a book or an entry in ODNB or, at a pinch, a web article or an obituary in a national newspaper or journal. Exceptions are allowed where there is strong local interest.
- Must have achieved something significant in their life or work. That is, something of lasting interest to people outside their immediate circle. Leading a blameless life or being related to someone famous is not sufficient. Wikipedia has a more complete description of how notability might be interpreted.
The database also contains entries for some people who do not meet all of these criteria. Entries assigned a status of too obscure do not appear on the map. This is a subjective judgement, of course, and we would be willing to review the status of someone if given details of how they meet criterion #4.
Accuracy
It is not unusual for incorrect addresses and residency dates to appear in books and on the web. Too often, the same mistaken information is copied from article to article, until it gains authenticity through repetition. Wherever possible, the information on this site has been verified against reliable sources: census returns, street and telephone directories, electoral registers, letters, etc. These may not be perfectly error-free, but they are a lot better than hearsay.
A common source of error is that many London streets have been re-named or re-numbered, sometimes more than once. If the address has changed since the subject moved in, the original address is given alongside today’s address.
Residency dates should be treated as approximate. Information in directories and electoral registers will usually be collected several months before the publication date and no attempt has been made to correct for this. If someone is listed in the Post Office directories from 1863 to 1868 then these are the dates shown. If the only evidence for an address is the 1851 census return, the date will be shown as 1851 even though this may have been the address both before and after 1851. An approximate date is shown as ~1860.
It can be difficult to determine whether an artist’s studio was also their residence. Even if a painter or sculptor had two addresses during a given period, one cannot assume that the studio was strictly non-residential.
Categories
People have been assigned to one of the following categories
- Literature (incl. poetry, journalism & publishing)
- Politics & administration (incl. law & economics)
- Religion, reform & social science
- Painting & drawing
- Performing arts (incl. composers of music & sport)
- Science, engineering & mathematics
- Medicine
- Printmaking & photography
- Applied arts (incl. architecture & sculpture)
- Other (incl. business, military & exploration)
Social science includes anthropology, archaeology, education, geography, history, linguistics, psychology and sociology. Other is used for polymaths and anyone who doesn’t fit into another category.
Errors and omissions
If you spot an error or notice that some worthy individual has been overlooked, please let us know by sending an email to notables@camdenology.org