EXHIBITS

Line engraving of Robert Burton, 1800.

Robert Burton was born in Lindley, in Leichestershire, on February 8, 1577. A scholarly boy, Burton was exceedingly interested in books and writing. This fascination with books would be reflected throughout his life as he collected and housed many books in his personal library.

He attended Brasenose College, in Oxford in 1593.

In 1597 he is said to have consulted an astrological physician with complaints related to melancholy. 

He graduated in 1602 with a Bachelor of Arts, and in 1605 graduated with a Master's of Arts. Further in his education, Burton graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1614, and in 1616 he became vicar of St. Thomas the Martyr, Oxford.

Throughout this time, he worked on The Anatomy of Melancholy, finally finishing the first edition of the work in 1620. In 1621, The Anatomy of Melancholy was published in quarto by Henry Cripps of Oxford. 

Burton obsessively edited and added to the book throughout his life with a second edition coming 1624, and a third edition in 1628. Both were longer more detailed editions of the Anatomy. A fourth edition of the Anatomy was published in 1632, and a fifth edition published in 1638.   

In 1640 Burton passed away on the 25th of January, leaving behind a sixth edition that was publisehd two years after his death [1].