PARSONS, John Meeson (youngest son of Thomas Parsons of Newport, Shropshire). b. Newport 27 Oct. 1798; a member of the Stock exchange, London; A.I.C.E. 5 Feb. 1839; a director of London and Brighton railway company 9 Feb. 1843 to 21 Aug. 1848, chairman 19 June 1843 to 11 April 1844; a director of the Shropshire union railway 1845–9; resided at 6 Raymond buildings, Gray’s inn to 1869; collected a gallery of pictures of the German and Dutch schools and of water-colour drawings by English artists; bequeathed 92 oil and 47 water-colour paintings to South Kensington museum 1870; he also gave three pictures to the National gallery, and many fine engravings to British Museum. d. 45 Russell sq. Bloomsbury, London 25 March 1870. Min. of proc. of Instit. of C.E. xxxi 252–3 (1871).
PARSONS, Needham Thompson. b. 1 Nov. 1826; ensign 1 European Bengal fusiliers 26 July 1845; captain 101 foot 12 March 1858, major 15 Sept. 1869; lieut.-col. 103 foot 24 July 1872, placed on h.p. 8 Dec. 1877; lieut.-col. regimental district 19 Dec. 1877 to 19 Dec. 1882; honorary M.G. 17 Nov. 1883; served in the Burmese war 1852–3, the Indian mutiny 1857, and the Indian north west frontier war 1863. d. Isle of Man 7 Aug. 1895.
PARSONS, Percival Moses (son of John Parsons of Seraptoft house, Leics.) b. London 1819; under chief engineer Portsmouth dockyard 1834–6; articled to Braithwaite, Milner & co. 1836–40; engaged laying out Eastern counties’ railway 1841–5; an engineer in London from 1850; invented improved switches and axle-boxes; connected with the Permanent way co.; designed a central railway station for London on north bank of the Thames, near Charing Cross 1853; patented an invention for rifled cannon which had occupied him 8 years; patented improved bolts Feb. 1867; engineer to the Bessemer steel and ordnance co. 1871; invented white brass for shaft bearings, and manganese bronze for propellers; M.I.C.E. 2 Dec. 1873; took out 52 patents 1851–89; author of Proposed London railway 1853; Guns versus armour plates 1863. d. Melbourne house, Blackheath, Kent 5 Nov. 1892. Min. of proc. of Instit. of C.E. cxi 385–9 (1893).
PART, James. b. Wigan 1809; apprentice to Christopher Morris of Wigan; educ. St. Bartholomew’s, Aldersgate sch. and Univ. coll.; L.S.A. 1832; M.R.C.S. 1832, F.R.C.S. 1854; F.M.C. and C.S. 1851; M.D. St. Andrew’s 1860; surgeon Artists’ annuity fund soc.; president North London medical soc.; author of Medical and surgical case book. d. 89 Camden road, London 1 Oct. 1875. Lancet 24 Dec. 1875 p. 931; Proc. of royal Med. and Chir. soc. viii 71 (1875).
PARTINGTON, Charles Frederick. Lecturer on modern improvements in mechanics and on other subjects at mechanics’ institutions; published Lectures on select subjects in mechanics and hydrostatics by J. Ferguson, F.R.S., adapted to the present state of science 1825; The century of inventions by the Marquis of Worcester, with notes and a biographical memoir 1825; edited The scientific gazette July 1825 to 4 Feb. 1826; edited with Wm. Newton the second series of The London journal of arts and sciences, 9 vols. 1834–42; edited with other authors The British cyclopædia of arts and sciences, 10 vols. 1835–8; author of An historical and descriptive account of the steam engine 1822, 3 ed. 1826; A brief account of the royal gardens, Vauxhall 1822; A manual of natural and experimental philosophy, 2 vols. 1828; The builder’s complete guide 1852; he was living in 1857.
PARTON, James. b. Canterbury 9 Feb. 1822; taken to America 1827; a teacher in Philadelphia and New York; a contributor to the Home journal 3 years; a public lecturer; resided in New York to 1875, then at Newbury Port, Massachusetts; m. Jany. 1856 Sarah Payson Willis (1811–72) widow of Charles H. Eldredge, she became a well known author under the name of Fanny Fern; he was the author of The life of Horace Greeley 1855; General Butler in New Orleans 1864; The life of Aaron Burr 1861; Life of Benjamin Franklin, 2 vols. 1864; Life of J. J. Astor 1865; Famous Americans of recent time 1867; Eminent Women of the age 1868; People’s Book of biography 1869; Life of Thomas Jefferson 1874; Caricature and other comic art in all times 1877; The humorous poetry from Chaucer to Saxe 1881; Life of Voltaire, 2 vols. 1881; Life of Andrew Jackson, 3 vols. 1883. d. Newbury port, Massachusetts 17 Oct. 1891. Appleton’s American Biog. iv 665–6 (1888) portraits of J. and S. P. Parton.
PARTRIDGE, John (son of Samuel Partridge). b. Glasgow 28 Feb. 1790; pupil of Thomas Phillips, R.A. about 1814; studied in France and Italy 1823–7; a fashionable portrait painter in London 1827; painted portraits of the queen and prince Albert 1840; portrait painter extraordinary to the queen 1842; exhibited 72 pictures at R.A. and 58 at B.I. 1815–61; presented to the National portrait gallery 1872 his picture entitled Meeting of the fine art commission at Gwydyr house, Whitehall in the year 1846; author of On the constitution and management of the royal academy 1864. d. 60 Brook st. Grosvenor sq. London 25 Nov. 1872. Art Journal (1873) 44.
PARTRIDGE, Richard. b. 19 Jany. 1805; apprenticed to his uncle W. H. Partridge of Birmingham 1821–7; entered St. Bartholomew’s hospital 1827; M.R.C.S. 1827, F.R.C.S. 1843, member of council 1852, examiner 1854, Hunterian orator 1865, and president 1866; L.S.A. 1827; demonstrator of anatomy at Kings’ college, London 1831–6, professor of descriptive and surgical anatomy 1836 to death; assistant surgeon to Charing Cross hospital 23 Dec. 1836, surgeon 8 Jany. 1838 to 13 April 1840; surgeon to Kings’ college hospital 13 April 1840 to 1870; F.R.S. 23 Feb. 1837; professor of anatomy at the royal academy 1853 to death; fellow of royal Med. and Chir. soc. of London 1828, secretary 1832–6, member of council 1837–8 and 1861–2, vice-pres. 1847–8, president 1863–4. d. 18 Wimpole st. London 25 March 1873. Illust. times 4 Oct. 1869 p. 369 portrait; Lancet 29 March 1873 pp. 456, 464.
Note.—The body of the murdered Italian boy Carlo Ferrari was brought to Kings’ coll. hospital for dissection, and it was through Partridge’s astuteness that the murderers Bishop and Williams were arrested, and executed 5 Dec. 1831.
PARTRIDGE, William (1 son of John Partridge of Monmouth). b. 2 Jany. 1818; educ. Winchester and Ch. Ch. Oxf., B.A. 1840, M.A. 1860; a student of Lincoln’s inn 12 June 1840; barrister M.T. 3 Nov. 1843; stipendiary magistrate, Wolverhampton 1860–3; police magistrate at the Thames court 2 April 1863, at Southwark 1867–79, at Westminster 1879–89, at Lambeth 1889–90, and at Marylebone 1890 to death; presided in his court 29 Aug. 1891. d. The Grange, Uxbridge road, London 10 Sept. 1891. Graphic 19 Sept. 1891 p. 327 portrait; I.L.N. 19 Sept. 1891 p. 369 portrait.