Henrietta Huxley (International) assertion Henrietta Huxley i(A137654 works by) (birth name: Henrietta Anne Heathorn) (a.k.a. Nettie Huxley; Nettie Heathorn; Mrs Thomas Henry Huxley; Henrietta Anne Huxley; Henrietta A. Huxley; H.A.H.)
Born: Established: 1825 West Indies, Americas, ; Died: Ceased: 1914 Eastbourne, East Sussex,
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England,
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United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe,
Gender: Female
Visitor assertion Departed from Australia: 1855
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BiographyHistory

The grandmother of Aldous Huxley, Henrietta Anne Heathorn, was 'a brewer's daughter born in the West Indies'. 'In July 1847, shortly after arriving in Sydney', Thomas Henry Huxley (q.v.) met 'Nettie' who was 'keeping house for her brother-in-law William Fanning.' Impulsive by nature, 'Huxley became engaged to her on their sixth meeting'.

Three years later Thomas Huxley departed Australia, arriving in England on 23 October 1850. Due to financial considerations, 'Huxley and Nettie (who remained in Australia)' had 'resolved not to marry until he could pay his own way ... After an eight-year engagement Nettie arrived in London in May 1855; she and Huxley were married at All Saints' Church, Finchley Road, on 21 July.'

(Source: Adrian Desmond, 'Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn)

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • The April 1933 issue of The Home includes 'Australian Huxley' (by T. H. C.), a brief section which notes: 'For Australia to put a ban of exclusion on Mr Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is like slapping one of its own children, or great-grandchildren, for Aldous Huxley's grandmother, the wife of the famous Professor, was Henrietta Anne Heathorn, of Sydney...Mrs Huxley had literary gifts which found expression in a volume of poems, and from one of them Professor Huxley chose the three lines which were inscribed on his tombstone'. (content which includes extract of poem, appears in the topical monthly column, 'Contributed Comments')
Last amended 24 Apr 2018 17:40:11
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