PETER, WILLIAM (eld. son of Henry Peter, _d._ 1821). _b._
Harlyn, St. Merryn, Cornwall 22 March 1788; educ. Ch. Ch. Oxf.,
B.A. 1807, M.A. 1809; barrister L.I. 28 May 1813; M.P. Bodmin
11 Dec. 1832 to 29 Dec. 1834; British consul in Pennsylvania
and New Jersey 13 March 1841 to death; author or editor of
Thoughts on the present crisis in a letter from a constituent
to his representative 1815; Speeches of sir Samuel Romilly
in the house of commons, 2 vols. 1820; Sacred songs being an
attempted paraphrase of some portions of the psalms by W. Peter
1828, new ed. with other poems by a Layman 1834; Poems by Ralph
Ferrars (i.e. Wm. Peter) new ed. 1833; William Tell from the
German of Schiller, Heidelberg 1839, 2 ed. Lucerne 1867; Mary
Stuart from the German of Schiller, Heidelberg 1841; Maid of
Orleans, Cambridge 1843; Agamemnon of Æschylus, Philadelphia
1852; Specimens of the poets of Greece and Rome by various
translators, Philadelphia 1847. _d._ Philadelphia 6 Feb. 1853.
_bur._ St. Peter’s churchyard, where is monument.
PETERKIN, ALEXANDER (elder son of Alexander Peterkin of
Edinburgh, lawyer and author of many works 1780–1846). _b._
1814; editor of the Berwick Advertiser; shorthand reporter and
sub-editor of the Edinburgh Advertiser; on the staff of The
Times, retired about 1853; author of The study of art 1870, a
poem. _d._ 1889.
PETERMANN, AUGUST HEINRICH. _b._ Bleichrode near Nordhausen,
Saxony 18 April 1822; a pupil of Dr. Heinrich Berghaus at
the Potsdam cartographic institution 1839; came to Edinburgh
1845 to assist Dr. Keith Johnstone in an English edition of
Berghaus’ Atlas of physical geography 1847; came to London 1847;
physical geographer royal; returned to Germany 1854; professor
of geography Gotha university, and in charge of Perthes’
Geographic institution at Gotha to his death; all the German
expeditions to Africa and to the Poles he planned, described and
mapped; contributed to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the English
Cyclopædia, and the Athenæum; author of The search for Franklin,
a suggestion 1852; An account of the expedition to Central
Africa by Richardson, Barth, Over and Vogel 1854; and other
works published at Gotha and Vratislaviæ; _committed suicide_
at Gotha 25 Sept. 1878. _The Times 28 Sept. 1878 p._ 5; _The
Athenæum 5 Oct. 1878 p._ 437.
PETERS, MARY (dau. of Richard Bowly). _b._ Cirencester,
Gloucs. 17 April 1813; _m._ John McWilliam Peters, rector
of Quennington, Gloucs. and afterwards vicar of Langford,
Oxfordshire, _d._ 1834; contributed hymns to the Plymouth
Brethrens’ Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs 1842; author of
Hymns intended to help the communion of saints 1847, selections
from this book were printed in various hymnals 1855–72;
Universal history, or the world’s history from the creation to
the accession of queen Victoria, London, S. Bagster and Sons,
7 vols. 1862, anon., this work is also known as Bagster’s
Universal history. _d._ Clifton 29 July 1856. _Julian’s
Hymnology_ (1892) 891–2.
PETERS, WILLIAM CUMMING. _b._ Woodbury, near Exmouth, Devon 10
March 1805; opened a music store in Louisville, Kentucky 1829;
established branch houses in Cincinnati 1839 and in Baltimore
1849; a leader of concerts and choirs; revised and enlarged J.
F. Burrowes’ Pianoforte primer 1849; wrote Mass in G for soprano
and bass voices 1863, and other music published in Baltimore,
New York and Cincinnati 1841–71; compiled The Catholic harmonist
1850; The eclectic piano instructor 1855; and The Catholic harp