THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
in 1827, Owen founded societies at Orbiston, Lanarkshire, and Tytherley, Hampshire, in which the principle of cooperation was put in practise. The founder's ample means enabled him to make these experiments on a liberal scale, but all resulted in failure. In 1828 he visited Mexico at the invitation of the government, with the view of establishing a communistic society, but returned to Europe without accomplishing anything. He continued to advocate his peculiar views to the day of his death. In 1829 he held a famous debate with Alexander Campbell at Cincinnati on the evidences of Christianity (he himself being an unbeliever). In the latter years of his life (and probably under the influence of his son, Robert Dale Owen) he was a believer in Spiritualism, having become convinced of the immortality of the soul. Owen was a man of remarkable energy and decided ability, but visionary. He and his followers, called " Owenists," became, in 1827, active in the establishment of the labor leagues, in which the Chartist movement largely had its origin. Among Owen's writings are : Discourses on a New System of Society, with an Account of the Society at New Lanark (Louisville, 1825) ; The Debate on the Evidences of Christianity between R. Owen and A. Campbell (Bethany, Va., 1S29); and The Revolution in the Mind and Practice of the Human Race (London, 1849). Bibliography: W. L. Sargant, Robert Owen and his Social Philosophy, London, 1860; G. J. Holyoake, Life . oj Robert Owen, ib. 1866; F. A. Packard, Life of Robert Owen, Philadelphia, 1868; A. J. Booth, Robert Owen, the Founder of Socialism in England, London, 1869; L. Jones, Life, Times, and Labours of Robert Owen, ib. 1889; F. Podmore, Robert Owen, 2 vols., London, 1906; R. E. Davies, The Life of Robert Owen, Philanthropist and Social Reformer, London, 1907; W. A. Hinds, American Communities, Chicago, 1908.
OXENDEN, ASHTON: Church of England bishop; b. at Broome Park, Canterbury, Sept. 20, 1808; d. at Biarritz (100 m. s.s.w. of Bordeaux), France, Feb. 22, 1892. He studied at University College, Oxford (B.A., 1831; M.A., 1859); was ordained deacon 1833, and priest 1834; was curate of Barham, Kent, 1833-38; from 1838-45 he retired from active work on account of ill-health; was rector of Pluckley, Kent, 1849-69; became honorary canon of Canterbury Cathedral, 1864; was bishop of Montreal and metropolitan of Canada, 1869-78; vicar of St. Stephen's, near Canterbury, 1879-84; and rural dean of Canterbury, 1879-84. He was the author of The Cottage Library: (1) Baptism, (2) The Lord's Supper, (3) Hist, of the Christian Church, (4) Fervent Prayer, (5) God's Message to the Poor, (6) Story of Ruth (6 vols., London, 1847-62); Cottage Sermons: or, Plain Words to the Poor (2 series, 1853-54); The Pathway of Safety; or, Counsel to the Awakened (1856); Cottage Readings. The Barham Tracts Complete (1859); Sermons on the Christian Life (1862) ; Portraits from the Bible (2 vols., 1863); The Parables of our Lord Explained (1864); Our Church and her Services (1866); A Simple Exposition of the Psalms (2 vols., 1872-73); The Earnest Churchman (1878); Short Comments on the Gospels (1885); The History of My Life: an Autobiography (1891); Plain Sermons, With a Memoir and Portrait of the Author (London and New York, 1893).
Bibliography: Consult, besides the Autobiography, and the Memoir in Plain Sermons, ut sup., DNB, xliii. 9.
OXENHAM, HENRY NUTCOMBE: Roman Catholic; b. at Harrow (5 m. n.w. of London) England, Nov. 15, 1829; d. at Kensington, London, Mar. 23, 1888. He studied at Balliol College, Oxford (B.A., 1850; M.A., 1854); became curate at Worminghall, Buckinghamshire (1854), and later of St. Bartholomew's, Cripplegate, till 1857, when he joined the Roman Catholic Church; he was in the London Oratory, 1859-60; became professor at St. Edmund's College, Ware, 1860; and master at the Oratory School, Birmingham, 1861. Among his works may be named: The Sentence of Kaires and other Poems (Oxford, 1854) ; The Catholic Doctrine of the Atonement: an historical Inquiry into its Development in the Church (London, 1865); Catholic Eschatology and Universalism. An Essay on the Doctrine of Future Retribution (1876); Short Studies in Ecclesiastical History and Biography and Short Studies Ethical and Religious (both reprinted from The Saturday Review, 1884-85). He was the translator of J. J. I. von Dollinger's The First Age of Christianity and the Church (1886); The Pope and the Council, by Janus (1869); and Lectures on the Reunion of the Churches (1872). He was translator and editor of vol. ii. of C. J. von Hefele's A History of Christian Councils (Edinburgh, 1876). Among his important contributions to The Saturday Review was a series of papers that appeared in 1870 on the proceedings at the Vatican council.
Bibliography: Manchester Guardian, Mar. 31, 1888; DNB, xliii. 13-15; J. Gillow, Bibliographical Dictionary of English Catholics, v. 228-231, London, n.d.
OXFORD: The county town of Oxfordshire, Eng., a cathedral city, the seat of a famous university and of a bishopric; situated at the junction of the Isis (Thames) and Cherwell (52 m. w.n.w of London); population 49,413 (1901). The university, though not founded by Alfred the Great, is a very old institution, and achieved very early a great fame. It probably originated from independent colleges founded in the place. Mention is made of what became the nuclei of the later university as early as the beginning of the twelfth century. The earliest charter recognizing it as a single organization dates from Henry III. (thirteenth century): the statutes date from 1629. At present the university comprises twenty-one colleges, some of which are very richly endowed, and there are also one college and three halls for women in the town, the students of which have the privileges of lectures, library, and examinations, though not of degrees and honors. The university library is the Bodleian, founded by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1602. The University of Oxford has been closely identified with the religious life of England. From the Restoration down to 1854, dissenters (see Non- Conformists) were debarred from the honors of the university. Now, however, all persons can receive its degrees, since subscription to the Thirtynine Articles (q.v.) is no longer required. John Wyclif was professor at Oxford, and in 1555 Latimer and Ridley, and in 1556 Cranmer, were burnt at Oxford. In 1606 James I. prohibited Roman Catholics from " nominating to any free school.'