Happy 232, Patrick Brontë

On Saint Patrick's Day 1777, in a tiny cottage - to put it nicely - in Drumballyroney, Ireland, the father of the Brontës was born. He had a long way ahead of him and one that nobody who saw the baby Patrick could have predicted: he would become a teacher, go to a prestigious University on the other side of the channel, change his surname, become a curate of the Church of England, publish a couple of books and, most memorable of all, father the best-known literary family in the world. 'Eccentrick' by his own admission, he took a modern, unconventional approach to his children's education which seemed to work quite well in the end.

His long life wasn't an easy one, and yet he always looked ahead and hoped for the best. Patrick Brontë, knowingly and unfairly demonised, could surely teach us a few very good lessons.

Picture Source: Times of the Symes.

Categories: Patrick Brontë, Reminder