Nevil Vincent Sidgwick, 1873-1952

Nevil Vincent Sidgwick, who died on 15 March 1952, came from a highly gifted family. His ancestors were Yorkshire farmers, but his great-grandfather became a successful cotton spinner in Skipton. His grandfather, William Sidgwick, broke away from the family business and was sent to Cambridge, where he became a Wrangler. He was Headmaster of Skipton School until his death in 1841. He had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, William Carr Sidgwick, Nevil’s father, was born in 1834. The two younger sons, Henry and Arthur, were born in 1838 and 1840. Henry Sidgwick became the famous Professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge. Arthur Sidgwick was elected to a fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1864, but soon afterwards was appointed an assistant master at Rugby School, where he remained for fifteen years. He was elected to a tutorial fellowship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 1882, and later became University Reader in Greek. Mary Sidgwick, their sister, married in 1859 Edward White Benson, who was then an assistant master at Rugby, and later became Archbishop of Canterbury.