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Barham, Richard Harris 1788-1845
English humorist

He was born in Canterbury, and had a near-fatal coach accident in 1802 which partially crippled his right arm for life. He entered Brasenose College, Oxford (1807), was ordained (1813), and in 1821 received a minor canonry of St Paul's Cathedral, London. After unsuccessful attempts at novel writing, he began a series of burlesque metrical tales in 1837 under the pen name 'Thomas Ingoldsby'. Collected under the title The Ingoldsby Legends (3 vols, 1840-47), they at once became popular for their droll humour, irony and esoteric learning. His lyrics were published in 1881.

Bibliography: W G Lane, Richard Harris Barham (1968)