Eleanor Creathorne Clayton
Ellen Creathorne Clayton, Mrs Needham (15 February 1834 – 19 July 1900), born Eleanor Creathorne Clayton, was an author and artist. She wrote and illustrated novels, stories, and collections of historical biographies for young readers.
Also recorded as Ellen Clayton · Ellen Needham · Ellen Creathorne Clayton · Ellen C. Clayton
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton · Public domain
- Name
- Ellen Creathorne Clayton
- Birth Name
- Eleanor Creathorne Clayton
- Born
- 15 February 1834
- Birthplace
- Dublin
- Died
- 19 July 1900 (aged 66)
- Place of death
- London
- Spouse
- James Henry Needham (m. 1879)
- Nationality
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- painter · writer · draftsperson · illustrator
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Ellen Creathorne Clayton, Mrs Needham (15 February 1834 – 19 July 1900), born Eleanor Creathorne Clayton, was an author and artist. She wrote and illustrated novels, stories, and collections of historical biographies for young readers.
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Note VALÉORINE
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton (1834–1900) was a draftsperson, illustrator and painter, among other activities, of British nationality. The draftsperson was born in Dublin and died in London. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q18562351 · wikipedia · Ellen Creathorne Clayton
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ellen Creathorne Clayton • Birth Name — Eleanor Creathorne Clayton • Born — 15 February 1834 • Birthplace — Dublin • Died — 19 July 1900 (aged 66) • Place of death — London • Spouse — James Henry Needham (m. 1879) • Father — Benjamin Clayton III • Relatives — Benjamin Clayton II (grandfather) Benjamin Clayton I (great-grandfather) Caroline Millard (aunt)
Early life
Early life
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton was born in Dublin on 15 February 1834, but moved to London with her father in 1841. Her mother was Mary Grahame Clayton. Her father, Benjamin Clayton III, was a wood engraver. Her grandfather, Benjamin Clayton II, and her great-grandfather Benjamin Clayton I, were also wood engravers. Her aunt, Caroline Millard, was wood engraver based in Dublin.
Career
Career
• Illustration — The title page of volume II of Clayton's English Female Artists (1876) Clayton was contributing articles and illustrations from the age of fourteen to a number of papers including Sala's paper as well as two of her father's publications, Chat and Punchinello. Clayton wrote novels, compiled and illustrated biographical dictionaries, and created cards and calendars as well. She petitioned the Royal Academy of Arts to admit women as students in 1859.
Personal life
Personal life
In February 1879, Clayton married solicitor James Henry Needham, but she continued to publish under her maiden name. She died in a nursing home in London in 1900, at the age of 66.
Identity
Identity
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton is recorded as a citizen of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Recorded with the occupation draftsperson.
Madame Pasta.
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton
Madame Sontag.
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1834
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton was born in 1834.
1900
Eleanor Creathorne Clayton died on 1 January 1900.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Dublin.
Birth place
London.
Death place
Publications
Though she is best known for her dictionary of English women painters, Clayton also wrote a number of novels and histories. The World Turned Upside Down is a slim collection of stories and poems, with colorful fantasy illustrations of a kite flying a boy, a tree sawing a man, fish flying while birds swim, animals observing humans at the zoo, and other striking reversals. One reviewer found Clayton's Queens of Song (1865) "clear and vivid in style, it is charming and readable, and cannot fail to become immensely popular." • The World's Fair (1851) • Notable Women: A Book for Young Ladies (1859, reprinted 1875) • Women of the Reformation (1861) • Cruel Fortune (1865, novel) • Queens of Song: Being memoirs of some of the most celebrated female vocalists who have appeared on the lyric state, from the earliest days of opera to the present time: To which is added a chronological list of all the operas that have been performed in Europe (1865) • The World Turned Upside Down (1875, short stories and poems for young readers) • English Female Artists (2 volumes, 1876) • Crying for Vengeance (3 volumes, 1877, novel) • Female Warriors (1879) • A Girl's Destiny (1882, novel)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ellen Clayton.
- 2.Clarke, Frances. Clayton, Eleanor ('Ellen') Creathorne. Dictionary of Irish Biography. 2009.
- 3.Lasa Álvarez, Begoña. A Tribute to Ellen Clayton. Pascal Theatre Company.
- 4.Ellen Creathorne Clayton. Royal Academy of Arts.
- 5.Volume II of English female artists, includes an autobiography on page 324
- 6.Clayton, Ellen C. (Ellen Creathorne). The World Turned Upside Down. 2011-09-13.
- 7.Our London Correspondence. American Literary Gazette and Publishers' Circular. 2. 4. 130. 15 December 1863.
- 8.Clayton, Ellen C. Cruel fortune: in three volumes. John Maxwell and Company. 1865.
- 9.Ellen Creathorne Clayton. Queen Of Songs Being Memoirs Of Some Of The Most Celebrated Female Vocalists Vol Ii. 1853.
- 10.Ellen Creathorne Clayton. Crying for vengeance. 1877.
- 11.Clayton, Ellen C. (Ellen Creathorne). Female Warriors, Vol. 1 (of 2)Memorials of Female Valour and Heroism, from the Mythological Ages to the Present Era. 2013-09-05.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q18562351: Eleanor Creathorne ClaytonWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Identity and origins. The authorities additionally record the headings Ellen Clayton, Ellen Needham, Ellen Creathorne Clayton and Ellen C. Her recorded language was English. She was the child of Benjamin Clayton III.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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