Joseph Valentine
Joseph Valentine was a table knife cutler. His obituary in The Sheffield Independent, 11 May 1850, reported that he had died, aged 40, on 6 May. It added:The deceased was a self-taught man and had acquired the Chinese language, as well as most of the modern languages of Europe, and some of the dead languages. He was mentioned by Sir Arnold J. Knight [Sheffield physician], in a speech several years ago, as an extraordinary instance of the intellectual attainments within the reach of a working man.....
