Rugby
Rugby names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Rugby a town in Warwickshire
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a town in Warwickshire, England; 83 miles N. W. of London and 30 E. S. E. of Birmingham. At the foot of the hill on which it stands the Swift gave John Wyclif's ashes to the Avon; close by, at Ashby and at Dunchurch, the Gunpowder Plot was hatched; the battlefield of Naseby was visited by Carlyle from its school house in 1842, a few days before Arnold's death; it is within a drive of Stratford-on-Avon, Coventry, and Kenilworth. It is the center of a great hunting district and the seat of a worldfamous public school. The school was founded in 1567 by Lawrence Sheriff, a grocer and a staunch supporter of Queen Elizabeth, by a gift of property in Manchester Square, London. After maintaining its position for some time as a good school for the Warwickshire gen try and a few others, specially under Dr. James and Dr. Wool, it became of national reputation under Dr. Arnold, who in raising his school, raised at the same time the dignity of his whole profession. Since his the school has never lacked able teachers, remarkable for independence of mind. When Arnold died in 1842, Archbishop Tait succeeded him, having as coadjutors Lord Lingen, Dean Bradley, Principal Shairp, Thomas Evans, Theodore Walrond, Bishop Cotton. He in turn was succeeded by Dean Goulburn, who had as one of his assistants the future Archbishop Benson. The Crimean War reduced the numbers of the school to 300, and Dr. Goulburn resigned in 1857. He was succeeded by the future Bishop of London, Dr. Temple, who remained 12 years. He made a brilliant record, and added fame to Rugby's reputation. Having collected enough money to rebuild the chapel, to erect a gymnasium and to build new schools, Dr. Temple was succeeded by Dr. Hayman. To him succeeded Dr. Jex-Blake, who inaugurated a still greater building era. When he resigned in 1887 he left behind him a school unrivaled in its appointments. He was succeeded by Dr. Percival. Of illustrious Rugbeians may be named the poets Landor, Clough, and Matthew Arnold; Dean Stanley, who had the rare privilege of recording the work of his great headmaster in biography; Judge Hughes, who did the same equally felicitously in "Tom Brown's School Days"; Dean Vaughan, Lord Derby, Lord Cross, Mr. Goschen, Sir R. Temple, and York Powell the historians, Justice Bowen, Sir W. Palliser, J-Cyc feathers on the sides of its neck, and fre- Professor Sidgwick, C. Stuart-Wortley, Arthur Acland, and many others famous in British affairs. Pop. about 25,000.
Rugby a market town of England
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a market town of England. It is situated pleasantly on the Avon a few miles northeast of the Shakespeare region. It is noted as the seat of the Rugby public school, a university preparatory school for the sons of wealthy families. The school was founded in 1567 by a wealthy London merchant. The principal buildings are Elizabethan in style and form an imposing quadrangle. The football and cricket grounds for which Rugby is noted lie in a beautiful park of eleven acres. Rugby football rules originated here. The school accommodates about 500 students. The school attained prominence under the headmastership of Thomas Arnold. Among his successors were Archbishop Tait and Dean Bradley of Westminster. Matthew Arnold, Dean Stanley, Landor, Clough, and Thomas Hughes, the author of Tom Brown at Rugby, were Rugby students. See Arnold ; Hughes
Rugby a former town in Morgan co.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a former town in Morgan co., Tenn.; about 114 miles N. of Chattanooga; on the Cumberland plateau; is in a rich mining and agricultural region. It owes its existence to a series of public lectures delivered in the United States by Thomas Hughes of England. It was settled by a company from England in 1880, who bought a large tract of land, and the settlement was made with impressive ceremonies. The town was laid out in building sites, farms, parks, etc.; several industries were introduced, but the scheme never realized the expectations of its projectors; and the place is now only classed as a health resort.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's put Rugby's population at "about 25,000" in 1921; the Warwickshire town has since grown to roughly three times that, and its school, described by Aiton's in 1910 as a place "for the sons of wealthy families," began admitting girls in the 1970s and became fully co-educational in the 1990s. The game Aiton's mentions in a single line — "Rugby football rules originated here" — has far outgrown the school: rugby union staged its first World Cup in 1987, playing for a trophy named after the schoolboy William Webb Ellis, and abandoned amateurism for open professionalism in 1995, though historians now treat the Webb Ellis origin story of 1823 as legend rather than record. Rugby, Tennessee, which Collier's wrote off as "a former town" and "only classed as a health resort," was rescued from the 1960s onward as Historic Rugby, a preserved village of restored Victorian buildings with only a scattering of permanent residents.
Written for this edition, 2026.