Pierce Egan

Pierce Egan (1772–1849) was a British journalist, sportswriter, and writer on popular culture. His popular book Life in London, published in 1821, was adapted into the stage play Tom and Jerry, or Life in London later that year, which became the first play to have a continuous run of 100 performances in London while at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End.

Coining the term "the Sweet Science" as an epithet for prizefighting — which he dubbed "the Sweet Science of Bruising" as a description of England’s bare-knuckle fight scene, the first volume of his prizefighting articles, Boxiana; or Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism, was published in 1813.

Life

Egan's parents were Irish but he may have been born in the London area. He went into the printing trade, and was a compositor for George Smeeton in 1812. He established himself as the country's leading reporter of sporting events, which at the time meant mainly prize-fights and horse-races.

He died on 3 August 1849 and was buried on 10 August on the western side of Highgate Cemetery, North London. His plot (no.3267) no longer has a headstone or any identifying memorial. The inscription on his grave was published in the book the Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex Vol 2: "Sacred to the memory of Pierce Egan, Author of several popular works, who died on the 3rd August 1849. Requiescat in Pace", but the year of death is incorrectly recorded as 1840.

Publications

Journals:

Boxiana

Life in London

Books:

Boxiana, vol. 1 (1813)

Boxiana, vol. 2 (1818)

Boxiana, vol. 3 (1821)