Introduction

Biography

William was the son of Will­iam Hick­son, a boot and shoe ma­nu­fac­ture­r of Smith­field, Lon­don.

He stu­died in the Ne­ther­lands and Ger­ma­ny. He re­tired from the fa­mi­ly bu­si­ness in 1840 to con­cen­trate on phil­an­thro­pic pur­suits, par­ti­cu­lar­ly the cause of ele­men­ta­ry edu­ca­tion.

He edit­ed the West­mins­ter Re­view (1840–52), con­trib­ut­ed vers­es to the Brit­ish na­tion­al an­them, and is cre­dit­ed with writ­ing the pro­verb:

’Tis a lesson you should heed:
Try, try, try again.
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try, try again.

Works

• The Sing­ing Mas­ter, 1836
• Dutch and Ger­man Schools, 1840
• Part Sing­ing, 1842
• Time and Faith, 1857
• The Use of Sing­ing as Part of the Mo­ral Dis­ci­pline of Schools