George Biggin et al. in London, England - 15 December, 1799

from Letter from Thomas Moore to his mother, Anastasia Moore, 19 December 1799, pages 98–99:

I dined with Mr. Biggin on Sunday. […] He is a man of very easy fortune, and quite a virtuoso: he is a great chemist, mechanic, musician, and he has undertaken to eradicate my bilious complaint. A charming woman made the third at a very elegant dinner. She is the most exquisite performer I ever heard on the piano; and he has a beautiful organ, which she plays in the grandest cathedral style. They have lately been at Brussels, and collected all the newest music on the Continent. I never had such a banquet.

cite as

Thomas Moore, Letter from Thomas Moore to his mother, Anastasia Moore, 19 December 1799. In Lord John Russell (ed.), Memoirs, Journal and Correspondence of Thomas Moore, volume 1 (London, 1853), p. 98–99. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1558369578816 accessed: 10 November, 2024

location of experience: London, England

Listeners

George Biggin
Inventor, Scientist
-1803
Thomas Moore
Poet, Singer, song writer
1779-1852

Listening to

hide composers
unspecified piano and organ music performed by an unnamed woman

Experience Information

Date/Time 15 December, 1799
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, in private, indoors

Notes

Mr Biggin with whom Thomas Moore dined can be identified as George Biggin (d. 1803) from a previous letter from Moore to his mother, in which he says of Mr Biggin that ‘it is from him the coffee biggins take their name, and from them he has taken his money’ (Dec. 14, 1799). George Biggin was credited with having invented the coffee biggin. As a young man he assisted Vincenzo Lunardi with his first balloon flights in London in 1785. In 1788 he inherited the Cosgrove estate in Northamptonshire. He took a great interest in science, the arts and literature. In 1802 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society for his work in chemistry.


Originally submitted by lcc5 on Mon, 20 May 2019 17:26:19 +0100
Approved on Wed, 29 Jul 2020 11:43:29 +0100