John de Verdion information

John de Verdion
A portrait of de Verdion from 1797
Born	Theodora Grahn c. 1744 Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony
Died	15 July 1802(1802-07-15) (aged 57–58) Holborn, London, England
Other names	Theodora de Verdion Chevalier John Theodora de Verdion
Occupation(s)	Bookseller, language teacher, translator

John de Verdion (born Theodora Grahn; c. 1744 – 15 July 1802) was a German-born bookseller, language instructor, and translator. Born the only child of an architect, he^[a] worked as an exchange broker during the Seven Years' War and began presenting himself as a man in his 20s in Bayreuth, where he worked as a secretary for the educational reformer Johann Bernhard Basedow. Suspicions about his sex led to his dismissal from Basedow's employ and after an incident where his clothes were torn off by a group of men, he moved to London in 1770.

In London, he styled himself Dr John de Verdion and was employed as a translator and instructor of languages, having knowledge of German, French, and Italian. He cut a recognisable figure in public, always wearing a bag wig and a cocked hat and carrying an umbrella in all weathers. He purchased antiquarian books from auction houses and resold them. As a frequent patron of Furnival's Inn, he was known for his large appetite for food and drink.

Among his language students were Edward Gibbon, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, and a Prussian ambassador. de Verdion was said to know Madame Schwellenberg and was admitted to the court of St James's Palace and the drawing room of Queen Charlotte, dressed in full costume, including an elegant sword.

Following a fall down the stairs, de Verdion died at his Hatton Garden home in July 1802.
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