Queer Places:
University of Cambridge, 4 Mill Ln, Cambridge CB2 1RZ
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, Département de Paris, Île-de-France, France

Saville Morton (August 1, 1811 – October 1, 1852) was born on August 1, 1811, in Exmouth, East Devon District, Devon, England, as the third son of Charles Carr Morton, a member of a good family originally from Drumrora, County Cavan, Ireland. His mother was Charlotte Tatlow, and he grew up alongside several brothers, including Charles, D'Arcy, Edward, and Pierce.

He pursued a distinguished academic path, being admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge, on June 24, 1830, matriculating in October 1830, and becoming a Scholar in 1833. He successfully completed both the Mathematical and Classical Triposes, graduating as the 22nd Wrangler with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1834. During his time at Cambridge, he became a member of the prestigious intellectual society known as the Cambridge Apostles. Furthermore, he was later admitted to the Inner Temple on May 2, 1838, pointing to legal training or aspirations, though his career ultimately shifted toward other paths. He also moved in prominent literary circles, forming friendships with major figures such as Alfred Tennyson, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Edward FitzGerald.

Following his university years, Morton initially lived the life of an artist in Rome before establishing himself as a talented, warm-hearted, and indefatigable journalist and foreign correspondent. He worked extensively for the Daily News, serving as its correspondent in various international postings, including Constantinople, Athens, Vienna, Berlin, Madrid, and finally Paris. In his journalistic work, he was noted as an earnest adversary of Louis Napoleon, alongside fellow correspondent Harold Elyott Bower. Regarding his personal and romantic life, historical records identify Frances Hammond Isabella Vickery as his common-law spouse, and he was characterized as a "painter, journalist, lover." While he moved within elite literary and intellectual networks, there is no direct, formal historical or biographical evidence in the provided record specifically linking him to modern definitions of LGBTQ+ identity, though his social circles included notable Victorian figures.

His life was cut short by a tragic murder in Paris in October 1852. He and Harold Elyott Bower—the correspondent for the Morning Advertiser—had previously lived on terms of the warmest friendship and intimate terms, frequently visiting one another's homes. However, tension arose because of Bower's jealousy regarding his wife, Mrs. Bower. Following the birth of her fifth child, Mrs. Bower suffered from a severe fever accompanied by long-continued delirium, during which she stated that the newborn infant was not her husband's, but rather Morton's child.

On the night of October 1, 1852, at No. 22 Rue des Capucins in Paris, an enraged Bower encountered Morton when Morton entered the room or arrived for dinner. After an altercation that began on the stairs, Bower seized a kitchen knife and stabbed Morton in the neck under the ear, severing his carotid artery and causing immediate, fatal death. Although Bower initially fled to England, he was later tried and acquitted of murder.

Saville Morton was initially buried on October 4, 1852, at Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. Decades later, in 1958, his remains were transferred to Le cimetière de l'Est, universally known as Père Lachaise Cemetery, resting in its complex combining the columbarium and crematorium.

References:

The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life 1st Edition by W.C. Lubenow

Other references:

• Alumni Cantabrigienses and University Records: Details concerning his admission to Trinity College, Cambridge (June 24, 1830), matriculation (October 1830), scholarship (1833), and graduation as the 22nd Wrangler with a Bachelor of Arts degree (1834), along with his family lineage (third son of Charles Carr Morton of Drumrora, Co. Cavan).
• The Inns of Court: Records noting his admission to the Inner Temple on May 2, 1838.
• The Letters and Private Papers of W. M. Thackeray (edited by Gordon N. Ray): References detailing his close friendships with Alfred Tennyson, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Edward FitzGerald.
• "The Life and Reminiscences of E. L. Blanchard" (compiled by Clement Scott and Cecil Howard, published in 1891): Contains Blanchard's contemporary obituary and notes on Saville Morton's murder in Paris on or about October 5, 1852, detailing his role as a foreign correspondent for the Daily News and Morning Advertiser, his death at Rue des Capucins by Harold Elyott Bower, and background regarding Mrs. Bower's delirium.
• Contemporary Periodical Reports and Newspaper Archives (1852): Contemporary published reports covering the tragic event in Paris, detailing the altercation between the two correspondents, Mrs. Bower's statements during her illness, Morton's professional assignments in Constantinople, Athens, Madrid, Vienna, Berlin, and Paris, and his burial details.
• Genealogical and Cemetery Records: Documentation regarding his birth on August 1, 1811, in Exmouth, Devon (son of Charles Carr Morton and Charlotte Tatlow), his common-law spouse Frances Hammond Isabella Vickery, his initial burial at Montmartre Cemetery, and the subsequent transfer of his remains in 1958 to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

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