RINGER, ALFRED (1837-1904), English divine and man of letters, was born in London on Feb. 9, 1837, the son of an architect. He was educated at King's College, London, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was ordained in 186o to a curacy at Alrewas, near Rugeley. His connection with the Temple Church, in London, began in 1866, when he was appointed reader; and in 1894 he succeeded Dr. Vaughan as master. In 1887 he was presented to a canonry in Bristol cathedral, and he was chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. He died on Feb. 8, 1904. Canon Ainger's gentle wit and humour, his generosity and lovable disposition, endeared him to a wide circle. In literature his name is chiefly associated with his sympathetic appreciation of Charles Lamb and Thomas Hood.
His works include: Charles Lamb (1882) and Crabbe (1903 ) in the "English Men of Letters" series; editions of Lamb's Es says of Elia (1883) and of his Letters (1888; 2nd ed., 1904), of the Poems (1897) of Thomas Hood, with a biographical intro duction; The Life and Works of Charles Lamb (1899-190o); articles on Tennyson and Du Mauricr in the Dictionary of National Biography; The Gospel and Human Life (19o4), ser mons; Lectures and Essays (1905), edited by the Rev. H. C. Beeching.
See Edith Sichel, The Life and Letters of Canon Ainger (1906).