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Thomas Hewitt Key was born in London on 20 March 1799. He was the youngest son of a London physician, and half-brother of Charles Aston Key, an eminent surgeon. Key was sent to the Rev. Samuel Dewe's School at Buntingford in Hertfordshire, where he remained for nearly ten years. From there, he went to St. John's College, Cambridge, but moved to Trinity College after obtaining a scholarship. He took his degree in 1821 and was nineteenth wrangler on the Mathematical Tripos. Key was initially inclined to study law but, in accordance with his father's wishes, he began to prepare for the medical profession. He studied for nearly two years at Guy's Hospital in London, but in the summer of 1824, an agent from the State of Virginia came to England to choose four professors for the new University of Virginia and invited Key to accept the professorship of mathematics. (His relatively high score on the Tripos, was presumably viewed as sufficient to qualify him for the post.) Although Key had already opted to withdraw from the pursuit of science, he found, in his words, the "power to agree" to the University of Virginia's offer.
In Charlottesville, Key proved a great success as a teacher of mathematics. During the summer of 1825, moreover, he also taught ancient Greek and Latin, in the absence of the Professor of Ancient Languages. Key began the etymological study of the Latin language at this time that he would pursue until the end of his life. Much to the dismay of the University community, Key left Charlottesville in 1827 due, most likely to the harshness of the climate. He returned to London, where he was appointed Professor of Latin at the newly founded University of London in 1828. In 1833, he was appointed co-headmaster of the University College School, a preparatory school associated with University College. In 1842, he gave up the professorship of Latin and took the professorship of comparative grammar, in addition to the headmastership. He held the latter position until his death in November 1875. Key was also one of the founders of the London Library in St. James's Square and a member of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, an organization devoted to the education of the general public. For some years, he was President of the Philological Society of London. Key's literary labors were numerous. Under the auspices of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, he made a map of ancient France (Gallia) accompanied by a one of the French provinces before 1789. He also wrote several articles for the Society's publications and contributed several articles, chiefly on language, to its Penny Cyclopaedia. In 1846, he published a Latin grammar text that long served the students of the University College School. Key's last work, on "Language, its Origin and Development," was published in 1874. He left an unfinished Latin dictionary at the time of his death. Selected References
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