Chronology

31th October 1855

Born at Park Hill, Thackley, in the township of Idle, the second son of Dufton Wright, a woollen cloth weaver and quarryman, and Sarah Ann (née Atkinson).

1861

Works as a donkey-boy at Woodend quarry, Windhill.

1862

Gets indoor job at Titus Salt's mill as a doffer, earning 3s 6d a week. Attends a school provided by Salt, learning some basic arithmetic but not how to read or write.

1863/4

Elizabeth Mary Lea is born.

1866

Dufton Wright dies.

1868/9

Moves to Stephen Wildman’s mill at Bingley working first as a doffer then as a wool-sorter earning £1 to 30s a week.

1870

Frustrated at reliance on literate coworkers to read him news of the Franco-Prussian War, determined to learn to read and write.

1870/1

Learns with the help of coworker Alfred Brook. His only two books are the Bible and Pilgrim’s Progress.

1871–1875??

Starts attending night school in Windhill, initially costing 6d a week. Avidly reads fortnightly installments of Cassell’s Popular Educator.

Under John Murgatroyd at the night school, begins to study French, and then German and Latin.

At the mechanics’ institute in Bradford, studies arithmetic, geometry, and algebra.

Begins running his own night school at home, charging 2d a week.

1876

With £40 saved, travels to Germany during a temporary mill closure. Walks from Antwerp to Heidelberg to save money.

Studies German and mathematics in Heidelberg for eleven weeks out of fourteen before running out of money.

1876–1879??

Returns to England and starts teaching at Springfield School, Bradford.

At same time studies at the Yorkshire College of Science (which would become Leeds University).

1879

Becomes a resident master at the Wesleyan Grove School, Wrexham.

1879–1882??

Goes to Roubaix to improve his French.

Teaches at Margate.

1882

Passes the intermediate exam of a London BA degree.

Returns to Heidelberg to study mathematics.

Encouraged by Hermann Osthoff to focus on comparative philology.

Supports himself by teaching mathematics

1885

Obtains a PhD degree with a thesis entitled ‘The qualitative and quantitative changes in the Indo-Germanic vowel system in Greek’.

1886–1888?

Karl Brugmann invites him to translate Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der indo-germanischen Sprachen which was published in 1888.

1886

Moves to University of Leipzig, studying phonetics, German literature, and Lithuanian.

1887

Moves to London.

1888

Invited by Max Müller to Oxford and appointed lecturer to the Association for the Higher Education of Women.

Teaches Gothic, Old English, and Old High German.

Appointed deputy lecturer in German at the Taylor Institution.

1888–1892??

Prepares primers in Old High German, Middle High German, and Gothic, published by the Clarendon Press.

1891

Appointed deputy professor of comparative philology at Oxford.

Begins work on the English Dialect Dictionary, taking over from W. W. Skeat.

Organizes committees around the country to collect words and phrase in local dialects.

1892

Publication of Grammar of the Dialect of Windhill in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

November 1894

Meeting at technical college in Bradford to collect for the EDD.

July 1896

First volume of the EDD is (completed? published?).

Joseph Wright and Elizabeth Mary Lea are engaged the same day.

6th October 1896

Joseph and Elizabeth marry.

1897

Bradford committee completes their work but forms the Yorkshire Dialect Society.

Wright becomes one of the first vice-presidents.

1901

Appointed professor of comparative philology (Corpus Christi), succeeding Max Müller.

25th June 1904

Elected as a fellow of the British Academy.

1905

Publication of English Dialect Dictionary completed at an estimated personal cost of £25,000.

1905–1914

Helps organize the teaching of modern languages at Oxford. The number of students doubles in this time.

1907

Publication of History German Grammar.

1908

Publication of Old English Grammar.

1910

Publication of Grammar of the Gothic Language.

1912

Publication of Comparative Grammar of the Greek Language.

1913

Helps organize one of the first courses for foreign students of English.

1917

Publication of revised Middle High German Primer.

1923

Publication of introductory grammars for Old English and Middle English.

1924

Publication of Elementary Historical New English Grammar.

1925

Retires as Professor of Comparative Philology.

27th February 1930

Dies of pneumonia at home.