Leech, John (1817-1864)

Leech, John

CARICATURIST, ILLUSTRATOR (ENGLAND)

BORN 29 Aug 1817, London - DIED 29 Oct 1864, London
GRAVE LOCATION London: Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (036/PS (18788) (next to Thackeray's grave))

John Leech was the son of the Irish landlord of the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill. His talent for drawing was noticed early by John Flaxman (1755-1826) when he visited the family. At Charterhouse School, William Makepeace Thackeray was a fellow pupil and they became lifelong friends.

His work was first published when he was eighteen years old and from 1840 onwards he worked for Bentley's Miscellany, Punch and other magazines. His work was in the first edition of Punch in 1841 and he worked for Punch until his death.

Apart from creating caricatures and other illustrations, he also worked as a lithographer and a wood engraver. He made four plates for "A Christmas Carol" (1843) by Charles Dickens. In 1862 his work for Punch was successfully exhibited.

He died in 1864 in London. At his funeral the first meeting between John Millais en E.J. Trelawny took place. This resulted in Millais' painting "The North-West Passage".

Related persons
• illustrated work of Dickens, Charles
• was a friend of Millais, John
• was a friend of Thackeray, William Makepeace

Events

30/12/1863

William Makepeace Thackeray is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. The funeral was attended by Charles Dickens, Mark Lemon, Anthony Trollope, Theodore Martin, Robert Bell, John Millais, G.H. Lewes, Robert Browning, George Cruikshank, John Leech and Shirley Brooks. [Dickens, Charles][Lewes, George Henry][Martin, Theodore][Millais, John][Thackeray, William Makepeace][Trollope, Anthony]