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 PRACTICAL SQL
A Beginner’s Guide to Storytelling with Data

by Anthony DeBarros

San Francisco
PRACTICAL SQL. Copyright © 2018 by Anthony DeBarros.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of
the copyright owner and the publisher.

ISBN-10: 1-59327-827-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-827-4

Publisher: William Pollock

Production Editor: Janelle Ludowise
Cover Illustration: Josh Ellingson
Interior Design: Octopod Studios
Developmental Editors: Liz Chadwick and Annie Choi
Technical Reviewer: Josh Berkus
Copyeditor: Anne Marie Walker
Compositor: Janelle Ludowise
Proofreader: James Fraleigh

For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch

Press, Inc. directly:
No Starch Press, Inc.
245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
phone: 1.415.863.9900; [email protected]
www.nostarch.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: DeBarros, Anthony, author.
Title: Practical SQL : a beginner's guide to storytelling with data /
Anthony
DeBarros.
Description: San Francisco : No Starch Press, 2018. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018000030 (print) | LCCN 2017043947 (ebook) | ISBN
9781593278458 (epub) | ISBN 1593278454 (epub) | ISBN 9781593278274
(paperback) | ISBN 1593278276 (paperback) | ISBN 9781593278458 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: SQL (Computer program language) | Database design. |
BISAC:
COMPUTERS / Programming Languages / SQL. | COMPUTERS / Database
Management
/ General. | COMPUTERS / Database Management / Data Mining.
Classification: LCC QA76.73.S67 (print) | LCC QA76.73.S67 D44 2018
(ebook) |
DDC 005.75/6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018000030

No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch
Press, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every
occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial fashion
and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the
trademark.

The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the
author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person or entity with
respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by
the information contained in it.
About the Author
Anthony DeBarros is an award-winning journalist who has combined
avid interests in data analysis, coding, and storytelling for much of his
career. He spent more than 25 years with the Gannett company,
including the Poughkeepsie Journal, USA TODAY, and Gannett Digital.
He is currently senior vice president for content and product
development for a publishing and events firm and lives and works in the
Washington, D.C., area.
About the Technical Reviewer
Josh Berkus is a “hacker emeritus” for the PostgreSQL Project, where
he served on the Core Team for 13 years. He was also a database
consultant for 15 years, working with PostgreSQL, MySQL, CitusDB,
Redis, CouchDB, Hadoop, and Microsoft SQL Server. Josh currently
works as a Kubernetes community manager at Red Hat, Inc.
 BRIEF CONTENTS
Foreword by Sarah Frostenson
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Creating Your First Database and Table
Chapter 2: Beginning Data Exploration with SELECT
Chapter 3: Understanding Data Types
Chapter 4: Importing and Exporting Data
Chapter 5: Basic Math and Stats with SQL
Chapter 6: Joining Tables in a Relational Database
Chapter 7: Table Design That Works for You
Chapter 8: Extracting Information by Grouping and Summarizing
Chapter 9: Inspecting and Modifying Data
Chapter 10: Statistical Functions in SQL
Chapter 11: Working with Dates and Times
Chapter 12: Advanced Query Techniques
Chapter 13: Mining Text to Find Meaningful Data
Chapter 14: Analyzing Spatial Data with PostGIS
Chapter 15: Saving Time with Views, Functions, and Triggers
Chapter 16: Using PostgreSQL from the Command Line
Chapter 17: Maintaining Your Database
Chapter 18: Identifying and Telling the Story Behind Your Data
Appendix: Additional PostgreSQL Resources
Index
 CONTENTS IN DETAIL
FOREWORD by Sarah Frostenson

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION
What Is SQL?
Why Use SQL?
About This Book
Using the Book’s Code Examples
Using PostgreSQL
Installing PostgreSQL
Working with pgAdmin
Alternatives to pgAdmin
Wrapping Up

1
CREATING YOUR FIRST DATABASE AND TABLE
Creating a Database
Executing SQL in pgAdmin
Connecting to the Analysis Database
Creating a Table
The CREATE TABLE Statement
Making the teachers Table
Inserting Rows into a Table
The INSERT Statement
Viewing the Data
When Code Goes Bad
Formatting SQL for Readability
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

2
BEGINNING DATA EXPLORATION WITH SELECT
Basic SELECT Syntax
Querying a Subset of Columns
Using DISTINCT to Find Unique Values
Sorting Data with ORDER BY
Filtering Rows with WHERE
Using LIKE and ILIKE with WHERE
Combining Operators with AND and OR
Putting It All Together
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

3
UNDERSTANDING DATA TYPES
Characters
Numbers
Integers
Auto-Incrementing Integers
Decimal Numbers
Choosing Your Number Data Type
Dates and Times
Using the interval Data Type in Calculations
Miscellaneous Types
Transforming Values from One Type to Another with CAST
CAST Shortcut Notation
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

4
IMPORTING AND EXPORTING DATA
Working with Delimited Text Files
Quoting Columns that Contain Delimiters
Handling Header Rows
Using COPY to Import Data
Importing Census Data Describing Counties
Creating the us_counties_2010 Table
Census Columns and Data Types
Performing the Census Import with COPY
Importing a Subset of Columns with COPY
Adding a Default Value to a Column During Import
Using COPY to Export Data
Exporting All Data
Exporting Particular Columns
Exporting Query Results
Importing and Exporting Through pgAdmin
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

5
BASIC MATH AND STATS WITH SQL
Math Operators
Math and Data Types
Adding, Subtracting, and Multiplying
Division and Modulo
Exponents, Roots, and Factorials
Minding the Order of Operations
Doing Math Across Census Table Columns
Adding and Subtracting Columns
Finding Percentages of the Whole
Tracking Percent Change
Aggregate Functions for Averages and Sums
Finding the Median
 Finding the Median with Percentile Functions
Median and Percentiles with Census Data
Finding Other Quantiles with Percentile Functions
Creating a median() Function
Finding the Mode
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

6
JOINING TABLES IN A RELATIONAL DATABASE
Linking Tables Using JOIN
Relating Tables with Key Columns
Querying Multiple Tables Using JOIN
JOIN Types
JOIN
LEFT JOIN and RIGHT JOIN
FULL OUTER JOIN
CROSS JOIN
Using NULL to Find Rows with Missing Values
Three Types of Table Relationships
One-to-One Relationship
One-to-Many Relationship
Many-to-Many Relationship
Selecting Specific Columns in a Join
Simplifying JOIN Syntax with Table Aliases
Joining Multiple Tables
Performing Math on Joined Table Columns
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

7
TABLE DESIGN THAT WORKS FOR YOU
Naming Tables, Columns, and Other Identifiers
Using Quotes Around Identifiers to Enable Mixed Case
Pitfalls with Quoting Identifiers
Guidelines for Naming Identifiers
Controlling Column Values with Constraints
Primary Keys: Natural vs. Surrogate
Foreign Keys
Automatically Deleting Related Records with CASCADE
The CHECK Constraint
The UNIQUE Constraint
The NOT NULL Constraint
Removing Constraints or Adding Them Later
Speeding Up Queries with Indexes
B-Tree: PostgreSQL’s Default Index
Considerations When Using Indexes
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

8
EXTRACTING INFORMATION BY GROUPING AND
SUMMARIZING
Creating the Library Survey Tables
Creating the 2014 Library Data Table
Creating the 2009 Library Data Table
Exploring the Library Data Using Aggregate Functions
Counting Rows and Values Using count()
Finding Maximum and Minimum Values Using max() and
min()
Aggregating Data Using GROUP BY
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself
9
INSPECTING AND MODIFYING DATA
Importing Data on Meat, Poultry, and Egg Producers
Interviewing the Data Set
Checking for Missing Values
Checking for Inconsistent Data Values
Checking for Malformed Values Using length()
Modifying Tables, Columns, and Data
Modifying Tables with ALTER TABLE
Modifying Values with UPDATE
Creating Backup Tables
Restoring Missing Column Values
Updating Values for Consistency
Repairing ZIP Codes Using Concatenation
Updating Values Across Tables
Deleting Unnecessary Data
Deleting Rows from a Table
Deleting a Column from a Table
Deleting a Table from a Database
Using Transaction Blocks to Save or Revert Changes
Improving Performance When Updating Large Tables
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

10
STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS IN SQL
Creating a Census Stats Table
Measuring Correlation with corr(Y, X)
Checking Additional Correlations
Predicting Values with Regression Analysis
Finding the Effect of an Independent Variable with r-squared
Creating Rankings with SQL
 Ranking with rank() and dense_rank()
Ranking Within Subgroups with PARTITION BY
Calculating Rates for Meaningful Comparisons
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

11
WORKING WITH DATES AND TIMES
Data Types and Functions for Dates and Times
Manipulating Dates and Times
Extracting the Components of a timestamp Value
Creating Datetime Values from timestamp Components
Retrieving the Current Date and Time
Working with Time Zones
Finding Your Time Zone Setting
Setting the Time Zone
Calculations with Dates and Times
Finding Patterns in New York City Taxi Data
Finding Patterns in Amtrak Data
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

12
ADVANCED QUERY TECHNIQUES
Using Subqueries
Filtering with Subqueries in a WHERE Clause
Creating Derived Tables with Subqueries
Joining Derived Tables
Generating Columns with Subqueries
Subquery Expressions
Common Table Expressions
Cross Tabulations
 Installing the crosstab() Function
Tabulating Survey Results
Tabulating City Temperature Readings
Reclassifying Values with CASE
Using CASE in a Common Table Expression
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

13
MINING TEXT TO FIND MEANINGFUL DATA
Formatting Text Using String Functions
Case Formatting
Character Information
Removing Characters
Extracting and Replacing Characters
Matching Text Patterns with Regular Expressions
Regular Expression Notation
Turning Text to Data with Regular Expression Functions
Using Regular Expressions with WHERE
Additional Regular Expression Functions
Full Text Search in PostgreSQL
Text Search Data Types
Creating a Table for Full Text Search
Searching Speech Text
Ranking Query Matches by Relevance
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

14
ANALYZING SPATIAL DATA WITH POSTGIS
Installing PostGIS and Creating a Spatial Database
The Building Blocks of Spatial Data
Two-Dimensional Geometries
Well-Known Text Formats
A Note on Coordinate Systems
Spatial Reference System Identifier
PostGIS Data Types
Creating Spatial Objects with PostGIS Functions
Creating a Geometry Type from Well-Known Text
Creating a Geography Type from Well-Known Text
Point Functions
LineString Functions
Polygon Functions
Analyzing Farmers’ Markets Data
Creating and Filling a Geography Column
Adding a GiST Index
Finding Geographies Within a Given Distance
Finding the Distance Between Geographies
Working with Census Shapefiles
Contents of a Shapefile
Loading Shapefiles via the GUI Tool
Exploring the Census 2010 Counties Shapefile
Performing Spatial Joins
Exploring Roads and Waterways Data
Joining the Census Roads and Water Tables
Finding the Location Where Objects Intersect
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

15
SAVING TIME WITH VIEWS, FUNCTIONS, AND TRIGGERS
Using Views to Simplify Queries
Creating and Querying Views
Inserting, Updating, and Deleting Data Using a View
Programming Your Own Functions
Creating the percent_change() Function
Using the percent_change() Function
Updating Data with a Function
Using the Python Language in a Function
Automating Database Actions with Triggers
Logging Grade Updates to a Table
Automatically Classifying Temperatures
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

16
USING POSTGRESQL FROM THE COMMAND LINE
Setting Up the Command Line for psql
Windows psql Setup
macOS psql Setup
Linux psql Setup
Working with psql
Launching psql and Connecting to a Database
Getting Help
Changing the User and Database Connection
Running SQL Queries on psql
Navigating and Formatting Results
Meta-Commands for Database Information
Importing, Exporting, and Using Files
Additional Command Line Utilities to Expedite Tasks
Adding a Database with createdb
Loading Shapefiles with shp2pgsql
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself
17
MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Recovering Unused Space with VACUUM
Tracking Table Size
Monitoring the autovacuum Process
Running VACUUM Manually
Reducing Table Size with VACUUM FULL
Changing Server Settings
Locating and Editing postgresql.conf
Reloading Settings with pg_ctl
Backing Up and Restoring Your Database
Using pg_dump to Back Up a Database or Table
Restoring a Database Backup with pg_restore
Additional Backup and Restore Options
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself

18
IDENTIFYING AND TELLING THE STORY BEHIND YOUR
DATA
Start with a Question
Document Your Process
Gather Your Data
No Data? Build Your Own Database
Assess the Data’s Origins
Interview the Data with Queries
Consult the Data’s Owner
Identify Key Indicators and Trends over Time
Ask Why
Communicate Your Findings
Wrapping Up
Try It Yourself
APPENDIX
ADDITIONAL POSTGRESQL RESOURCES
PostgreSQL Development Environments
PostgreSQL Utilities, Tools, and Extensions
PostgreSQL News
Documentation

INDEX
 FOREWORD

When people ask which programming language I learned first, I often

absent-mindedly reply, “Python,” forgetting that it was actually with
SQL that I first learned to write code. This is probably because learning
SQL felt so intuitive after spending years running formulas in Excel
spreadsheets. I didn’t have a technical background, but I found SQL’s
syntax, unlike that of many other programming languages,
straightforward and easy to implement. For example, you run SELECT *
on a SQL table to make every row and column appear. You simply use
the JOIN keyword to return rows of data from different related tables,
which you can then further group, sort, and analyze.
I’m a graphics editor, and I’ve worked as a developer and journalist at
a number of publications, including POLITICO, Vox, and USA TODAY.
My daily responsibilities involve analyzing data and creating
visualizations from what I find. I first used SQL when I worked at The
Chronicle of Higher Education and its sister publication, The Chronicle of
Philanthropy. Our team analyzed data ranging from nonprofit financials
to faculty salaries at colleges and universities. Many of our projects
included as much as 20 years’ worth of data, and one of my main tasks
was to import all that data into a SQL database and analyze it. I had to
calculate the percent change in fund­raising dollars at a nonprofit or find
the median endowment size at a university to measure an institution’s
performance.
I discovered SQL to be a powerful language, one that fundamentally
shaped my understanding of what you can—and can’t—do with data.
SQL excels at bringing order to messy, large data sets and helps you
discover how different data sets are related. Plus, its queries and
functions are easy to reuse within the same project or even in a different
database.
This leads me to Practical SQL. Looking back, I wish I’d read
Chapter 4 on “Importing and Exporting Data” so I could have
understood the power of bulk imports instead of writing long,
cumbersome INSERT statements when filling a table. The statistical
capabilities of PostgreSQL, covered in Chapters 5 and 10 in this book,
are also something I wish I had grasped earlier, as my data analysis often
involves calculating the percent change or finding the average or
median values. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know how
percentile_cont(), covered in Chapter 5, could be used to easily calculate
a median in PostgresSQL—with the added bonus that it also finds your
data’s natural breaks or quantiles.
But at that stage in my career, I was only scratching the surface of
SQL’s capabilities. It wasn’t until 2014, when I became a data developer
at Gannett Digital on a team led by Anthony DeBarros, that I learned to
use PostgreSQL. I began to understand just how enormously powerful
SQL was for creating a reproducible and sustainable workflow.
When I met Anthony, he had been working at USA TODAY and
other Gannett properties for more than 20 years, where he had led
teams that built databases and published award-winning investigations.
Anthony was able to show me the ins and outs of our team’s databases in
addition to teaching me how to properly build and maintain my own. It
was through working with Anthony that I truly learned how to code.
One of the first projects Anthony and I collaborated on was the 2014
U.S. midterm elections. We helped build an election forecast data
visualization to show USA TODAY readers the latest polling averages,
campaign finance data, and biographical information for more than
1,300 candidates in more than 500 congressional and gubernatorial
races. Building our data infrastructure was a complex, multistep process
powered by a PostgreSQL database at its heart.
Anthony taught me how to write code that funneled all the data from
our sources into a half-dozen tables in PostgreSQL. From there, we
could query the data into a format that would power the maps, charts,
and front-end presentation of our election forecast.
Around this time, I also learned one of my favorite things about
PostgreSQL—its powerful suite of geographic functions (Chapter 14 in
this book). By adding the PostGIS extension to the database, you can
create spatial data that you can then export as GeoJSON or as a
shapefile, a format that is easy to map. You can also perform complex
spatial analysis, like calculating the distance between two points or
finding the density of schools or, as Anthony shows in the chapter, all
the farmers’ markets in a given radius.
It’s a skill I’ve used repeatedly in my career. For example, I used it to
build a data set of lead exposure risk at the census-tract level while at
Vox, which I consider one of my crowning PostGIS achievements. Using
this database, I was able to create a data set of every U.S. Census tract
and its corresponding lead exposure risk in a spatial format that could
be easily mapped at the national level.
With so many different programming languages available—more
than 200, if you can believe it—it’s truly overwhelming to know where
to begin. One of the best pieces of advice I received when first starting
to code was to find an inefficiency in my workflow that could be
improved by coding. In my case, it was building a database to easily
query a project’s data. Maybe you’re in a similar boat or maybe you just
want to know how to analyze large data sets.
Regardless, you’re probably looking for a no-nonsense guide that
skips the programming jargon and delves into SQL in an easy-to-
understand manner that is both practical and, more importantly,
applicable. And that’s exactly what Practical SQL does. It gets away from
programming theory and focuses on teaching SQL by example, using
real data sets you’ll likely encounter. It also doesn’t shy away from
showing you how to deal with annoying messy data pitfalls: misspelled
names, missing values, and columns with unsuitable data types. This is
important because, as you’ll quickly learn, there’s no such thing as clean
data.
 Over the years, my role as a data journalist has evolved. I build fewer
databases now and build more maps. I also report more. But the core
requirement of my job, and what I learned when first learning SQL,
remains the same: know thy data and to thine own data be true. In other
words, the most important aspect of working with data is being able to
understand what’s in it.
You can’t expect to ask the right questions of your data or tell a
compelling story if you don’t understand how to best analyze it.
Fortunately, that’s where Practical SQL comes in. It’ll teach you the
fundamentals of working with data so that you can discover your own
stories and insights.

Sarah Frostenson
Graphics Editor at POLITICO
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Practical SQL is the work of many hands. My thanks, first, go to the team
at No Starch Press. Thanks to Bill Pollock and Tyler Ortman for
capturing the vision and sharpening the initial concept; to
developmental editors Annie Choi and Liz Chadwick for refining each
chapter; to copyeditor Anne Marie Walker for polishing the final drafts
with an eagle eye; and to production editor Janelle Ludowise for laying
out the book and keeping the process well organized.
Josh Berkus, Kubernetes community manager for Red Hat, Inc.,
served as our technical reviewer. To work with Josh was to receive a
master class in SQL and PostgreSQL. Thank you, Josh, for your
patience and high standards.
Thank you to Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and its
members and staff past and present for training journalists to find great
stories in data. IRE is where I got my start with SQL and data
journalism.
During my years at USA TODAY, many colleagues either taught me
SQL or imparted memorable lessons on data analysis. Special thanks to
Paul Overberg for sharing his vast knowledge of demographics and the
U.S. Census, to Lou Schilling for many technical lessons, to
Christopher Schnaars for his SQL expertise, and to Sarah Frostenson
for graciously agreeing to write the book’s foreword.
My deepest appreciation goes to my dear wife, Elizabeth, and our
sons. Thank you for making every day brighter and warmer, for your
love, and for bearing with me as I completed this book.
 INTRODUCTION

Shortly after joining the staff of USA TODAY I received a data set I
would analyze almost every week for the next decade. It was the weekly
Best-Selling Books list, which ranked the nation’s top-selling books
based on confidential sales data. The list not only produced an endless
stream of story ideas to pitch, but it also captured the zeitgeist of
America in a singular way.
For example, did you know that cookbooks sell a bit more during the
week of Mother’s Day, or that Oprah Winfrey turned many obscure
writers into number one best-selling authors just by having them on her
show? Week after week, the book list editor and I pored over the sales
figures and book genres, ranking the data in search of the next headline.
Rarely did we come up empty: we chronicled everything from the
rocket-rise of the blockbuster Harry Potter series to the fact that Oh, the
Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss has become a perennial gift for new
graduates.
My technical companion during this time was the database
programming language SQL (for Structured Query Language). Early on, I
convinced USA TODAY’s IT department to grant me access to the
SQL-based database system that powered our book list application.
Using SQL, I was able to unlock the stories hidden in the database,
which contained titles, authors, genres, and various codes that defined
the publishing world. Analyzing data with SQL to discover interesting
stories is exactly what you’ll learn to do using this book.

What Is SQL?
SQL is a widely used programming language that allows you to define
and query databases. Whether you’re a marketing analyst, a journalist,
or a researcher mapping neurons in the brain of a fruit fly, you’ll benefit
from using SQL to manage database objects as well as create, modify,
explore, and summarize data.
Because SQL is a mature language that has been around for decades,
it’s deeply ingrained in many modern systems. A pair of IBM researchers
first outlined the syntax for SQL (then called SEQUEL) in a 1974
paper, building on the theoretical work of the British computer scientist
Edgar F. Codd. In 1979, a precursor to the database company Oracle
(then called Relational Software) became the first to use the language in
a commercial product. Today, it continues to rank as one of the most-
used computer languages in the world, and that’s unlikely to change
soon.
SQL comes in several variants, which are generally tied to specific
database systems. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
and International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which set
standards for products and technologies, provide standards for the
language and shepherd revisions to it. The good news is that the
variants don’t stray far from the standard, so once you learn the SQL
conventions for one database, you can transfer that knowledge to other
systems.

Why Use SQL?

So why should you use SQL? After all, SQL is not usually the first tool
people choose when they’re learning to analyze data. In fact, many
people start with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and their assortment of
analytic functions. After working with Excel, they might graduate to
Access, the database system built into Microsoft Office, which has a
graphical query interface that makes it easy to get work done, making
SQL skills optional.
But as you might know, Excel and Access have their limits. Excel
currently allows 1,048,576 rows maximum per worksheet, and Access
limits database size to two gigabytes and limits columns to 255 per
table. It’s not uncommon for data sets to surpass those limits,
particularly when you’re working with data dumped from government
systems. The last obstacle you want to discover while facing a deadline
is that your database system doesn’t have the capacity to get the job
done.
Using a robust SQL database system allows you to work with
terabytes of data, multiple related tables, and thousands of columns. It
gives you improved programmatic control over the structure of your
data, leading to efficiency, speed, and—most important—accuracy.
SQL is also an excellent adjunct to programming languages used in
the data sciences, such as R and Python. If you use either language, you
can connect to SQL databases and, in some cases, even incorporate
SQL syntax directly into the language. For people with no background
in programming languages, SQL often serves as an easy-to-understand
introduction into concepts related to data structures and programming
logic.
Additionally, knowing SQL can help you beyond data analysis. If you
delve into building online applications, you’ll find that databases provide
the backend power for many common web frameworks, interactive
maps, and content management systems. When you need to dig beneath
the surface of these applications, SQL’s capability to manipulate data
and databases will come in very handy.

About This Book

Practical SQL is for peoplewho encounter data in their everyday lives
and want to learn how to analyze and transform it. To this end, I discuss
real-world data and scenarios, such as U.S. Census demographics, crime
statistics, and data about taxi rides in New York City. Along with
information about databases and code, you’ll also learn tips on how to
analyze and acquire data as well as other valuable insights I’ve
accumulated throughout my career. I won’t focus on setting up servers
or other tasks typically handled by a database administrator, but the
SQL and PostgreSQL fundamentals you learn in this book will serve
you well if you intend to go that route.
I’ve designed the exercises for beginner SQL coders but will assume
that you know your way around your computer, including how to install
programs, navigate your hard drive, and download files from the
internet. Although many chapters in this book can stand alone, you
should work through the book sequentially to build on the
fundamentals. Some data sets used in early chapters reappear later in the
book, so following the book in order will help you stay on track.
Practical SQL starts with the basics of databases, queries, tables, and
data that are common to SQL across many database systems. Chapters
13 to 17 cover topics more specific to PostgreSQL, such as full text
search and GIS. The following table of contents provides more detail
about the topics discussed in each chapter:

Chapter 1: Creating Your First Database and Table introduces

PostgreSQL, the pgAdmin user interface, and the code for loading a
simple data set about teachers into a new database.
Chapter 2: Beginning Data Exploration with SELECT explores
basic SQL query syntax, including how to sort and filter data.
Chapter 3: Understanding Data Types explains the definitions for
setting columns in a table to hold specific types of data, from text to
dates to various forms of numbers.
Chapter 4: Importing and Exporting Data explains how to use
SQL commands to load data from external files and then export it.
You’ll load a table of U.S. Census population data that you’ll use
throughout the book.
Discovering Diverse Content Through
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 what he then expressed that it had been ‘the business of his
whole life to be prepared for such a time!’
“His eldest son, John Gurney, was a man of great activity and
energy, and notwithstanding his extensive engagements in
business, devoted much of his time to the interests of his own
religious society, to the principles of which he was warmly
attached. In the midst of a course of remarkable temporal
prosperity, it is instructive to observe the fears which he
expresses in one of his private memoranda, lest his increasing
opulence should lead away his children from those religious
habits and associations in which they had been educated. He
left three sons, all of whom married and settled near Norwich.
Richard Gurney the eldest, on his father’s decease, in 1770,
became the occupant of the family residence at Keswick. John
Gurney, the father of J. J. Gurney, had previously to the birth of
the latter settled at Earlham. Joseph Gurney, the youngest,
resided at Lakenham Grove. The three families were naturally
much associated, and exercised an important influence upon
each other. At a later period especially, the consistency with
which Joseph Gurney, of The Grove, was enabled to maintain
his position as a Friend, and as a christian minister, rendered his
influence peculiarly valuable.”

John Gurney, of Earlham, is eulogised highly by the editor of these

memoirs as generous, ardent, and warm-hearted, abounding in
kindness to all, uniting very remarkable activity, both in public and
private business, with an acute intellect and extensive information.
His wife was Catherine Bell, a daughter of Daniel Bell of Stamford
Hill, near London, her mother being a granddaughter of Robert
Barclay, the well-known author of the “Apology.” She is described as
a woman of very superior mind as well as personal charms, and as a
serious christian and decided Friend. She died in the autumn of
1792, leaving her sorrowing husband the widowed parent of eleven
children. The following list of the names may be found useful:—
Catherine died unmarried, 1850.
Rachel died unmarried, 1827.
Elizabeth, married in 1800 to Joseph Fry, of London, became the
celebrated Mrs. Fry, who died in 1845.
John died in 1814.
Richenda married in 1816 to Francis Cunningham, who died in 1855.
Hannah married in 1807 to Thomas Fowell Buxton.
Louisa, married in 1806 to Samuel Hoare, died in 1836.
Priscilla died unmarried, 1821.
Samuel, who died in 1856.
Joseph John, who died in 1847.
Daniel, still living.
Joseph John Gurney, Esq.

Among the eminent citizens of this century, none will take a higher
place than the late J. J. Gurney, Esq., the well-known philanthropist.
He was born at Earlham Hall on August 8th, 1788. That hall was
one of the happiest homes in England. It was also the birth-place of
Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, sister of J. J. Gurney, and almost as celebrated as
her brother. Here they were both trained with religious care, and
passed their days of childhood and youth in happiness and peace.
In after life they were associated together in works of benevolence,
and the brother often aided his sister in many of her schemes for
improving prison discipline.
In 1803, soon after he had completed his 15th year, Joseph John
was sent to Oxford with his cousin Gurney Barclay to pursue his
studies under the care of John Rogers, a private tutor. Young J. J.
Gurney continued at Oxford two years, with the exception of the
vacations, which he spent mostly at home. His tutor, though
resident at Oxford, was not in that character connected with the
university or with any of the colleges. The student became an
excellent classical and oriental scholar, and ultimately the author of
several valuable religious works, such as “Essays on Christianity,”
“Thoughts on Habit and Discipline.” He was scarcely seventeen
when, in August, 1805, he was removed from the care of John
Rogers. He had become attached to his tutor and to his studies, and
he quitted the place with regret, but there was brightness in the
thought of settling at home. The bank in which his father was a
partner had been established in Norwich in the year 1770. After that
time the concern was considerably extended with branch banks at
Lynn, Fakenham, Yarmouth, and other places. His elder brother,
John, had been placed in the establishment at Lynn, and his brother
Samuel had been sent up to London, where he had become the
head of a district concern; so that circumstances had prepared the
way for that which J. J. Gurney himself had desired—a place in the
bank at Norwich. Here in the enjoyment of daily communication
with his father, and a home at Earlham with his sisters, the ensuing
three years of his life passed in peace and joy. In the year 1806, he
accompanied his father and a large family party in a tour to the
English lakes and through Scotland. On their return, J. J. Gurney
was regular in his attendance at the bank, but he found time for
study at home, and he carefully read ancient historians in the
original languages. Gradually, however, his attention became
unceasingly directed to biblical literature, which continued for some
years to absorb much of his leisure. His habits of study were
eminently methodical, exemplifying his favourite maxim, which he
was afterwards accustomed strongly to inculcate upon his young
friends, “Be a whole man to one thing at a time.” His position and
tastes introduced him to the highly-cultivated society, for which
Norwich was at the time remarkable, at the house of his cousin
Hudson Gurney, where he was accustomed to meet many persons
who were eminent for their parts and learning. He had early
become a favourite with Dr. Bathurst, then Bishop of Norwich, and
their intercourse gradually ripened into a warm friendship, which
was maintained unbroken till that prelate’s decease, in 1837, at the
very advanced age of ninety-three. Young J. J. Gurney was but just
twenty-one when, as one of his father’s executors and
representative at Earlham, and as a partner in the bank, very grave
responsibilities devolved upon him. However, he continued to
pursue his studies with ardour, and he made his first essay as an
author in an article published in the Classical Journal on September
9th, 1810, under the title of “A Critical Notice of Sir William
Drummond’s Dissertations on the Herculanesia.” After this effort his
mind became increasingly drawn towards the principles of the
Society of Friends, and many of his allusions to his feelings, in his
autobiography, are peculiarly interesting and instructive, indicating
the spiritual phase of his mind. The example of his sister, Elizabeth
Fry, as well as of his sister Priscilla, who like her, had become a
decided Friend and a preacher of the gospel, strengthened his
convictions; but the influence of other members of the family who
resided at Earlham, as well as of many other estimable persons,
tended in an opposite direction. The editor of the Memoirs, already
referred to, says:—

“Whilst Joseph John Gurney’s religious convictions were thus

gradually drawing him into a narrower path in connection with
the Society of Friends, his heart was becoming increasingly
enlarged in Christian concern for the welfare of others. He had
already warmly interested himself in the formation of a
Lancasterian School in Norwich, an institution which long
continued to have his effective support. The establishment of
an auxiliary Bible Society in this city, was an object into which
he now entered with youthful ardour. The general meeting for
its formation was held on the 11th of the 9th month, 1811.”

The philanthropist was married to Jane Birkbeck on October 10th,

1817, in his 29th year, and it appears to have been a very happy
marriage. The event took place at Wells Meeting, and, after a short
sojourn at Hunstanton, the newly-married couple travelled to their
home at Earlham, where they received the visits of many friends,
who were most hospitably entertained. After his marriage, J. J.
Gurney continued at Earlham; and the hall, where his father had
resided, and in which he himself lived from his birth, was his settled
residence.

“To this place (with its lovely lawn nested among large trees) he
was strongly attached all his life. And they who knew him there
can still picture him in his study among his books, or in his
drawing-room among his friends, his countenance beaming with
love and intelligence, the life of the whole circle; or in his
garden amongst his flowers, with his Greek Testament in his
hand, still drawing from the books ‘of nature and of grace’ that
lay open before him, new motives to raise the heart to the
Author of all his blessings.
“Placed by circumstances, though not the elder brother, in the
position which his father had occupied in Norfolk as Master of
Earlham, and a partner in the bank, it was his delight, as far as
possible, to continue Earlham as the family house. Even after
his marriage, his sisters, Catherine, Rachel, and Priscilla,
continued to live with him, occupying their own apartments, and
it was the custom of the other members of the family frequently
to meet there as under a common roof. * * * Up to the period
of his brother John’s decease, and for some time afterwards, it
was the habit of his brothers and himself, with their brothers-in-
law, Thomas Fowell Buxton and Samuel Hoare, to improve these
occasions by a mutual impartial examination of their conduct, in
which each with brotherly openness stated what he conceived
to be the brother’s faults. Happy indeed was such an
intercourse between such minds. * * * Besides this, to him,
delightful band of brothers and sisters, his house was, as must
have been already apparent to the reader, freely opened to a
large circle.
“Whilst every year strengthened his conviction of the soundness
and importance of the christian principles which he professed,
 he rejoiced in that liberty wherewith Christ had made him free
to embrace as brethren all those in whom he thought he could
discern traces of his heavenly image.
“Towards the close of the year (1817) in company with his wife,
his brother Samuel Gurney, his brother and sister Buxton, and
Francis and Richenda Cunningham, he took a short tour upon
the continent of Europe, their principal objects being to
establish a branch Bible Society in Paris, and to procure
information as to the systems of prison discipline adopted in the
jails of Antwerp and Ghent. Having accomplished their objects,
they returned home after an absence of about a month.”

Soon afterwards J. J. Gurney began to preach at meetings of the

Friends in Norwich and elsewhere.

“Early in the year 1818, private business called him to London.

His sister, Elizabeth Fry, had previously entered upon her
important labours for the benefit of the prisoners in Newgate,
and for the improvement of prison discipline generally. Joseph
John Gurney warmly entered into his sister’s views, and
accompanied her to the committee of the House of Commons
on the occasion of giving her evidence, and afterwards to Lord
Sidmouth, then Secretary of State for the Home Department.
“His visit to London and the pamphlet on Prison Discipline, soon
afterward published by his brother-in-law, Thomas Fowell
Buxton, tended to deepen in his own mind a sense of the
importance of that subject, and an opportunity soon occurred
for endeavouring to influence the authorities at Norwich to
some exertion respecting it. The mayor and corporation,
attended by the sheriffs and other citizens, whilst perambulating
the boundaries of the county of the city, were by his desire
invited to partake of refreshment in passing by the hall at
Earlham. Besides those immediately connected with the
magistracy many others assembled, the whole company
consisting of about 800 persons. On this occasion, Joseph John
 Gurney, in an address to the mayor and corporation, urged the
erection of a new jail, and its establishment on better principles,
with a view to the employment of the prisoners, and the
improvement of their morals; enforcing his appeal by a
reference to the extraordinary change that had then recently
taken place in Newgate, through the exertions of a committee
of ladies, and concluding by offering a donation of £100 towards
the object. The effort was not without fruit, though the result
was not immediately apparent.”

The editor of his Memoirs proceeds:—

“In the 8th and 9th month of this year (1818), in company with
his wife, his sister Elizabeth Fry, and one of her daughters, he
took a journey into Scotland, visiting many of the prisons both
there and in the north of England, besides attending many of
the meetings of Friends. On this occasion, in conformity with
the christian order established in the Society of Friends, he was
furnished with a minute or testimonial expressing the
concurrence of his Friends of his own ‘Monthly Meeting’ in his
prospects of religious service.”

We have now to view the philanthropist not only in the varied

relations of private life, but also in the very important character of a
christian minister. He gradually became the most distinguished
member of the Society of Friends in all England, and he often
delivered exceedingly impressive discourses in Norwich and other
large towns, preaching the gospel with a peculiar grace of manner
which fascinated every audience. We have often heard him preach
before large congregations of educated people in the Meeting House
at Liverpool, and always with great effect. His journal is full of
details of his labours in all parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
He became a Home Missionary, working hard at his own expense;
but we must confine this brief sketch to his doings here in Norwich.
The death of his beloved wife at Earlham on October 6th, 1822, put
his religious principle to the severest test, and in his letters he
expresses deep sorrow, but he was of too active a disposition to be
long subdued by grief. During the few months succeeding his loss,
he continued mostly at home in the enjoyment of the society of his
sisters, Catherine and Rachel; his children becoming increasingly the
objects of his tender solicitude. In the mean time, besides attending
to the necessary claims of business, and to the various public
objects that had long shared his interest, he devoted his leisure to
study, finding relief, as he intimates, “Not in the indulgence of
sorrow, but in a diligent attention to the calls of duty.”
After giving many extracts from his journal, Mr. Braithwaite continues
in reference to the anti-slavery agitation:—

“Retiring for a few days to Cromer Hall, he found a large and

interesting circle. Amongst others, the late William Wilberforce
and Zachary Macaulay were there, deliberating with his brother-
in-law Thomas Fowell Buxton on the position and prospects of
the Anti-Slavery question. It was the occasion on which the
latter appears to have arrived at his final decision, to accept the
responsible post of advocate of the cause as successor to
Wilberforce. In this important undertaking, and throughout the
succeeding struggle, Joseph John Gurney gave him his warm
and efficient encouragement and support.”

Mr. J. J. Gurney, Mr. Clarkson, Mr. T. F. Buxton, Mr. Wilberforce, and

others, were earnest advocates for the total abolition of the slave
trade and of slavery; and they attended many public meetings at
which they denounced and exposed the horrid traffic. Ultimately, as
we all know, their efforts were rewarded, by rousing public
indignation to such a pitch as to result in the passing of an act of
parliament emancipating the slaves in the West Indies, at a cost of
twenty millions.
The panic in the monetary and commercial world, and the sudden
run upon the banks in London and the country, have rendered the
winter of 1825–1826 memorable. As a banker, J. J. Gurney did not
escape his share of anxiety, as appears from his journal, but his firm
weathered the storm. Another circumstance was at this time deeply
interesting to his feelings, namely, his attachment to Mary Fowler,
daughter of Rachel Fowler, a cousin of his late wife. After some
correspondence he made Mary Fowler an offer of marriage, which
she accepted. On July 18th, 1827, they were married at Elm Grove.
On this interesting occasion, he remarks in his journal,—

“Bright, hopeful, and happy was our wedding day. We dined on

the lawn, a large united company, and rejoiced together, I trust
in the Lord. Mary and I left the party at Elm Grove, in the
afternoon, for North Devon.”

They arrived at Linton, and thence proceeded to Ilfracombe. There

they spent the honeymoon, and then the happy husband brought his
second wife home to Earlham, where they were received with joy.
After this he was visited by many eminent characters at Earlham,
including Dr. Chalmers, who stayed with him several days.

“None can have attentively perused the foregoing pages” (says

the editor of the memoirs) “without perceiving that one leading
feature of Joseph John Gurneys character was an unweared
active benevolence. Like his sister, Elizabeth Fry, he seemed
continually to live under a deep sense of his responsibility
towards others. A cheerful and bountiful giver, it was not
merely by large pecuniary assistance that he proved his interest
in objects connected with the welfare of his fellow-men: to
these objects he was exemplary in devoting no common share
of his time and personal attention. The steady devotion to the
Anti-slavery and Bible Societies is already before the reader. In
addition to these great and often absorbing interests, his
exertions for the distressed labouring population of Norwich
were unremitting. Year after year, during the winter, or on any
occasion when their distress was aggravated by want of
employment, he was at his post, stirring up his fellow-citizens to
the necessary measures for the alleviation of their wants. The
District Visiting Society, which was mainly instrumental in
originating the Soup Society and the Coal Society, found in him
a steady and effective supporter. Often would he say that the
painful consciousness of the poverty and suffering of many
thousands around him, almost prevented his enjoyment of the
abundant blessings with which he was himself so richly
favoured. On one occasion he expended a considerable sum in
providing the capital for an attempt to supply the poor weavers
and mechanics with employment during a scarcity of work. But,
though like many similar attempts, it failed to answer the
expectation of the promoter, and was abandoned, it served at
least to furnish another proof of the sincerity and earnestness
with which he laboured for their welfare.
“The depressions in trade occasioned by the panic of 1825 will
be long remembered. Norwich did not escape its influence. As
a banker, Joseph John Gurney was more than usually absorbed
in his own immediate cares, but his heart at once turned
towards his suffering fellow-citizens. ‘The dreadful distress,’ he
writes to a friend, ‘which prevails in the great mass of our once
labouring, now, alas! idle population, has been such as to call
forth my strenuous efforts on their behalf. In this, success has
been mercifully vouchsafed. We have raised £3300 in five days.’
“One more illustration deserves notice. In the winter of 1829–
30, the manufactures of Norwich were again greatly depressed.
The weavers became unsettled, holding riotous meetings, and
using threatening language against their employers. The state
of things was alarming. J. J. Gurney felt it to be his duty to use
his influence in checking the spirit of discontent that was rapidly
spreading. He attended one of the very large and tumultuous
meetings of the operatives, and endeavoured to persuade them
to desist from their disorderly proceedings, and quietly to
resume their work. With a view of still further winning them by
kindness, he invited a deputation from those assembled to
breakfast at Earlham on the following morning. Between forty
and fifty of them came, with Dover, a notorious Chartist leader,
 at their head. After the usual family reading of the Scriptures,
they sat down to a plentiful repast which had been provided for
them in the large dining room, of which they partook heartily;
and their host afterwards addressed them in a kind, conciliatory
manner upon the subject of wages, and their duty to their
employers. The men conducted themselves in an orderly
manner and appeared grateful for the attention shown them.
The scene was not soon to be forgotten.”

The editor gives some illustrations of the philanthropist’s benevolent

character, by narrating instances of his visits to prisoners in the Jail,
and to afflicted inmates of the Bethel and the Norfolk and Norwich
Hospital. A volume might be filled by an account of his acts of
private benevolence, but we must pass on to more public matters.
He seldom took an active part in contested elections, but at the
election in 1833, after the passing of the Reform Act, the Whig
candidates, one of whom was his near relative, were defeated,
chiefly, as was generally believed, through the influence of bribery.
On this subject J. J. Gurney wrote,—

“As usual, I took little or no interest in the election, but when a

petition was presented to Parliament against the returned
members on the score of bribery, I imagined it to be my place
to subscribe to the object, and wrote a letter in the Norwich
newspapers stating the grounds of my so doing. Those grounds
were in no degree personal, but simply moral and Christian.
But the appearance of evil was not avoided. The measure was
construed into an act of political partizanship; and I entirely lost
ground by it in my own true calling, that of promoting simple
Christianity among all classes.”

He had thought of becoming a candidate for the representation of

this city, or some other place, in Parliament. After some long
conferences with his friends he abandoned the idea and devoted
himself to his higher calling. Mr. J. J. Gurney was a well-known
Liberal in politics, but he did not often speak at political meetings in
this city. His speeches were always short and generally pertinent;
and showed good sense accompanied with the seriousness of
conviction. On whatever side of any question he spoke he was
listened to very attentively, and all parties believed that he delivered
the unbiassed opinion of an honest man. His conduct on every
occasion gained him the esteem of all friends of civil and religious
liberty.
In 1835, he was once more plunged into deep affliction by the long
illness and death of his wife. Her health had of late years been
much improved, and she had been unremitting in her attentions to
his daughter during her illness from typhus fever, without apparently
suffering in consequence. The disease was, however, lurking in her
constitution, and after some time made its appearance. The fever
gradually gained ground, and she sank under it on Nov. 9th of that
year. She died happily, amid her mourning friends; and her husband
knelt down at her bedside and returned thanks for her deliverance
from every trouble!
His journal contains many details of his visits to Manchester and
Liverpool, of his journeys in Derbyshire and North Wales, of his
journeys in Scotland and the north of England, of his voyage to
America, of his journey to Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina, of his
journey from Richmond to Washington, of interviews with eminent
statesmen, of labours at New York, of a voyage to the West Indies
and proceedings there, of a tour on the continent, and of his return
home. But we cannot follow him in all his wanderings in many
lands, where he went about doing good, promoting benevolent
objects and preaching the gospel, his heart being too large to be
confined to his native country, much less to his native city. On his
return from the continent in 1841, he attended a meeting of the
Bible Society, and delivered his last great speech, which occupied
two hours, on the state of religion in Europe. A shorthand writer
took notes of that address, which was so full of information that it
was afterwards published in the Journal of the Bible Society.
Soon after his return home he married Eliza P. Kirkbridge. The event
took place at Darlington, on October 10th, 1841, as noted in his
journal. After the marriage he delivered an address on the “Victory
which is of faith.” The dinner party was cheerful, and concluded
with a short religious service. He and his bride parted from their
friends, made a short tour, and returned to Earlham, which they
“reached in health and great peace, the place comfortable and
homeish, and the reception from his dearest children glowing.”
J. J. Gurney signed the total-abstinence pledge at the house of his
friend, Richard Dykes Alexander, at Ipswich, on April 8th, 1843. He
and his wife attended a great “Teetotal Meeting” held at Norwich, on
the arrival of Father Mathew, on September 9th, that year. The lord
bishop, Dr. Stanley, was present and requested J. J. Gurney to
preside. He did so, and declared himself to be a pledged teetotaller.
He spoke fully and carefully on the subject, and the lord bishop
afterwards expressed his admiration of the apostle of temperance as
the instrument of effecting so much moral good.
As a man of business, Mr. J. J. Gurney was ready, punctual, and
attentive. He was very modest, but of a candid and social
disposition. Though in large or mixed companies he seldom
appeared forward, yet in the society of his friends he was
exceedingly agreeable. In private life no man was more estimable
as a husband, a father, a neighbour, and a friend. In Norwich and in
the surrounding district he was universally honoured and beloved.
He was a great reader of the bible, and he was regular and exact in
family worship, but he was a stranger to bigotry, no stickler for
forms, and no friend to mysticism in matters of religion.
The autumn of 1846 was spent by the philanthropist quietly at
home, with the exception of engagements connected with the
attendance of meetings of Friends, and with what proved to be a
farewell visit to his beloved daughter at Darlington, and to his
friends in several places on his way home. He attended a committee
of the Norwich District Visiting Society on December 28th in that
year, and on his return to Earlham he complained of great
exhaustion, feverishness, &c. A few simple remedies were
administered, but the uncomfortable symptoms remaining his
medical man was summoned on the following morning. He
pronounced it a slight bilious attack, and seemed to have no anxiety
about the recovery. The philanthropist, however, gradually sank,
apparently from exhaustion, and he died on January 4th, 1847, in
the 59th year of his age. The news of his death spread a gloom
over the city, and the universal lamentations of the citizens proved
that they regarded him as a father and a friend, as indeed he had
been to thousands of them. The sensation in Norwich and its
neighbourhood cannot easily be described, and is probably without
precedent in the case of a mere private individual. During the entire
interval of seven days between his decease and the funeral, the half-
closed shops and the darkened windows of the houses gave ample
proof of the feelings of the inhabitants. It furnished the principal
topic of conversation in every family, in every private circle, in every
group by the wayside. People of all ranks vied with each other in
their eulogies of their departed friend. Everyone had his own story
to tell of some public benefit, or of some private kindness which had
been shown to others or to himself.
The funeral, as might have been expected from this unusual public
emotion, was an extraordinary scene. All the shops were closed and
all business was suspended in the city. A number of gentlemen,
including the mayor, the ex-mayor, and the sheriff, went out in
carriages as far as Earlham Hall. The citizens generally formed the
funeral procession, and followed the hearse and plain carriages from
the hall to the burial place at the Gildencroft. There was no pomp or
parade, no mockery of woe. A simplicity in harmony with the
character of the departed marked all the arrangements. As the
procession moved on towards the city it was joined by an increasing
number of the inhabitants, who issued forth in a continuous stream
to pay their last tribute to the memory of departed worth. Silently
and sadly many stood while the hearse passed slowly by, and many
a tearful countenance among the crowd bore testimony to their love
for the dead. The procession gradually increased in numbers all the
way to the Gildencroft, and after the thousands of people had
gathered round the grave a profound silence ensued, which was at
length broken by a Friend repeating the verses, “O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” &c. Another pause then
took place, followed by another address, and then the body was
lowered into its last resting place. The circle of mourning relatives,
including J. H. Gurney and his wife, the surrounding crowd of
spectators—persons of all ranks, of all ages, of all communions—
magistrates and artizans, clergymen and Nonconformists—
representatives, in short, of the whole people of Norwich, now took
their last farewell of Joseph John Gurney, and slowly turned towards
the meeting house, where a meeting for worship was to be held.
The service was deeply impressive, and formed an appropriate
conclusion to the solemn occasion. At the Cathedral, on the
following Sunday, the good Bishop Stanley preached a funeral
sermon before a large congregation. His text was “Watchman, what
of the night?” and after enlarging on it, he alluded in a most pathetic
and impressive manner to the virtues of the deceased, and we never
before saw so many people so deeply moved. The death of the
beloved citizen was also publicly adverted to in most of the places of
worship in Norwich.
Mr. J. J. Gurney was the author of various works, the most popular
being one on the Evidences of Christianity. It is a production more
calculated to confirm the faith of a believer than to convert a free
thinker who may not admit the possibility of anything supernatural.
He also published a work on “The Vows and Practices of Friends;”
“Essays on Christianity;” “Essays on the Moral Character of Christ,”
and “Love to God;” “The Papal and Hierarchical System compared
with the Religion of the New Testament, &c.” His last and best work
is entitled, “Thoughts on Habit and Discipline,” an excellent moral
treatise.

Bishop Bathurst.
Henry Bathurst, LL.D., canon of Christchurch, rector of Cirencester,
and prebend of Durham, was installed bishop of Norwich in 1805.
He was a prelate much esteemed and respected. His christian
deportment, conciliatory manners, and general benevolence,
endeared him to this city and diocese. He was eminently
distinguished for his liberal sentiments, and for his attachment to the
great principles of civil and religious liberty. He was often seen
walking arm in arm with Dissenters in our streets. He voted in the
House of Peers for the Repeal of the Catholic Disabilities Bill, and
also in favour of the Reform Bill. This disinterested and noble
advocacy of liberal principles is thought to have stood in the way of
his promotion to an archbishopric. He died April 7th, 1837, in the
93rd year of his age, and much lamented. A statue to his memory
was placed in the choir of the Cathedral. This beautiful work of art
was the last work of Sir Francis Chantrey, and is executed in his
masterly style from a block of the purest Carrara marble. It is
placed on a plain pedestal of white marble, and fixed in the recess at
the foot of the altar steps, on the north side of the choir, commonly
called Queen Elizabeth’s seat, because she sat there when she
visited Norwich. The bishop is represented in a sitting posture,
clothed in full ecclesiastical costume, and the artist has admirably
succeeded in giving to his face that expression of benevolence for
which he was so well known.
The following is a translation of the Latin inscription on the pedestal:
—

To the Memory of
The Right Reverend Father in Christ,
HENRY BATHURST, Doctor in Civil Law,
Who,
While for more than 30 years he presided over
This Diocese,
By his frankness and purity of heart,
Gentleness of manners, and pleasantness of conversation,
attached to himself the good will of all:
 His friends,
In testimony of their regret for one so much beloved,
Have caused this effigy to be erected.
He died 5 Ap. A.D. 1837, in the 93rd year
Of his age.

Bishop Stanley.

Dr. Stanley was born January 1st, 1779, and became rector of
Alderley, in Cheshire. After twice declining the office, he was
installed bishop of Norwich, August 17th, 1837. He ruled the
diocese for twelve years, and was highly esteemed by all sects for
his unceasing efforts to promote the spiritual interests of every class
of society, and his readiness on every occasion to co-operate with
Dissenters in every good work. He often attended their meetings to
promote religious and benevolent objects. In one of his sermons he
quoted the injunction “The servant of the Lord must not strive, but
be gentle unto all men; in meekness instructing those that oppose
themselves;” &c. His subsequent conduct furnished ample evidence
of the sincerity with which he obeyed this injunction; and although
some of his clergy were somewhat estranged from him by his
frequent expressions of unbounded charity, yet all were obliged to
esteem him for his noble zeal and consistency of character. He was
distinguished for his extensive liberality to the poor and his interest
in their education. He was often seen going about from school to
school, and the kindliness of his heart was so well known to the
children that they sometimes pulled his coat behind to obtain his
benignant smile, which to them was like sunshine after rain. On all
occasions he was earnest in his advocacy of civil and religious liberty,
and active in his exertions on behalf of all benevolent associations,
both of the Church and of Dissenters. He was also a promoter of all
literary institutions in the city and elsewhere, and often attended
their anniversaries at which he delivered animated addresses. He
did not lay claim to the character of a man of science; but
astronomy, geology, botany, and natural history were his favourite
studies. He was the author of two interesting volumes on “The
History of Birds,” which were published by the Society for the
Promotion of Christian Knowledge. He was elected president of the
Linnæan Society, and he accepted an appointment as one of the
commissioners chosen to inquire into the state of the British
Museum.
Bishop Stanley was so little of a bigot that he appeared once on the
same platform with Father Mathew, a Roman Catholic, at a
temperance meeting in St. Andrew’s Hall. He then and there
eulogised the apostle of temperance, and advocated the cause with
great eloquence. On another occasion he invited Jenny Lind, now
Madame Goldscmidt, to the palace, when she visited this city. At the
palace one evening, she sang before a large company. When it
became known that the lord bishop of the diocese had actually
entertained an operatic singer, great was the indignation of some of
the clergy. This however did not at all distress the good bishop, who
held on the even tenor of his way, doing good whenever he had an
opportunity. By his frequent earnest discourses in many churches in
this diocese, he caused quite a revival of religion among the clergy
and church-going people. He died, much lamented, on September
6th, 1849, in the 70th year of his age, and he was buried in the
middle of the nave of the Cathedral, in the presence of thousands
who had known and loved him. A short time after his decease, a
slab to his memory was laid over his grave, bearing the following
inscription:—
In the love of Christ
Here rests from his labours
EDWARD STANLEY,
Thirty-two years Rector of Alderley,
Twelve years Bishop of Norwich,
Buried amidst the mourning
Of the Diocese which he had animated,
The City which he had served,
The Poor whom he had visited,
The Schools which he had fostered,
 The Family which he had loved,
Of all Christian people
With whom, howsoever divided, he had joined
In whatsoever things were true and honest,
And just, and pure, and lovely,
And of good report.
Born January 1st, 1779.
Installed August 17th, 1837.
Died September 6th, 1849, Aged 70.
Buried September 21st, 1849.

Bishop Hinds.

Samuel Hinds, D.D., succeeded Bishop Stanley. He was the sixty-

seventh bishop of the diocese, and was installed on January 24th,
1850. He was the son of Abel and Elizabeth Thornhill Hinds, born
Dec. 23rd, 1793, in Barbadoes; and at the age of twelve he was sent
to England, to the school of Mr. Phillips, at Frenchay, near Bristol.
He entered at Baliol College, Oxford, but for want of rooms removed
to Queen’s, graduated in honours 1815 (second in classics), and in
the year following he obtained the Latin essay. He returned to
Barbadoes as a missionary and remained there five years, the three
latter as vice-principal of Codrington College. After he returned to
England he became vice-principal of Alban Hall, Oxford; and he
accompanied Archbishop Whately to Ireland, as his private chaplain.
He was subsequently presented with the living of Yardley, in Herts.,
by Dr. Coplestone, bishop of Llandaff. Dr. Hinds again returned to
Ireland, having been preferred to the living of Castlenock by
Archbishop Whateley, and was chosen private chaplain to Lord
Clarendon, lord lieutenant of Ireland. Hence he removed to the
deanery of Carlisle, but was scarcely settled there when he was
appointed to the bishopric of Norwich. He had previously refused
the bishoprics of New Zealand and Cork. He laboured in this diocese
for seven years, often preaching in the churches, attending religious
meetings, and delivering addresses of a high character. He generally
preached at the anniversaries of the Church Associations in this city.
He resigned the see of Norwich in April, 1857, and retired into
private life. His health is said to have been impaired by his arduous
labours in conducting the Oxford commissions which the government
had entrusted to him, and which, added to his duties in the diocese
and the office of chaplain to the house of lords, proved too much for
his constitution. Dr. Hinds is perhaps the most learned of modern
bishops. His literary talents are considerable. He is the author of
the “Rise and Progress of Christianity,” first published in the
“Enclyclopædia Metropolitana,” and considered a standard work,
highly esteemed for its comprehensive views of religious truth. The
“Three Temples of the One God;” “Catechists’ Manual;” and
“Inspirations of the Scriptures,” are works from his pen, which testify
to his deep learning and great research. He is the author of many
beautiful poems and hymns, some of which are familiar to the
congregation at Norwich Cathedral, from being repeated in the
service as arranged to music. The confirmation hymn is simple and
appropriate.

Mr. William Dalrymple.

In a brief history of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, published by

Dr. Copeman, we find the following memoir of the subject of this
notice:—

“Mr. Dalrymple was a native of Norwich, his father having

removed thither from Scotland. He was born in 1772, and at an
early age was sent to the Grammar School at Aylsham, in
Norfolk, from whence he was removed to the Free School at
Norwich, where he became a favourite pupil of its then head
master, the celebrated Dr. Parr. Here he had for a schoolfellow
Dr. Maltby, and with both, Dr. Parr kept up a friendly intercourse
of visits to the latest period of his life. It affords a strong proof
of Mr. Dalrymple’s early talents and his industry in cultivating
them, that, although in accordance with the then custom of
requiring medical apprenticeship to extend to seven years, he
was obliged to leave school at the age of fourteen, he had yet
attained such a proficiency in classical reading, and so correct
an appreciation of its beauties, that, amidst all the urgent and
various occupations and anxieties of his succeeding life, he
found the greatest relief to his toils in a recurrence to his
favourite authors. His taste was scholarlike as well as scientific;
his conversation embued with classical allusion, and his felicity
in quotation remarkable. [527]
“Mr. Dalrymple was apprenticed in London, and studied at Guy’s
and St. Thomas’ Hospitals under Cline and Sir Astley Cooper.
He returned to Norwich in 1793, and opened a surgery in his
father’s house; and although for several years his progress in
establishing a practice was slow, he at last attained the highest
reputation as a surgeon in his native city, and for many years
enjoyed the confidence, friendship, and patronage of a very
large number of patients of every grade of society and in every
district of the county.
“In 1812 Mr. Dalrymple was elected assistant surgeon to the
Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, and two years afterwards
succeeded to the full surgeoncy, a post which he occupied with
great credit to himself and benefit to his profession until 1839, a
period of twenty-five years. He was then in the 67th year of his
age, his powers were less vigorous, and finding himself no
longer equal to his hospital practice, he resigned his position
there, receiving a cordial acknowledgment from the governors,
of ‘the able, humane, and successful exercise of his official
duties,’ and being honoured by a request to accept the
appointment of honorary consulting surgeon. In 1844 Mr.
Dalrymple finally retired from professional life, and died in
London on the 5th of December, 1848, aged 75 years.
“From the year 1831 to 1835, I had ample opportunities, as
house surgeon of the hospital, of observing, and profiting by,
the mode in which the late Mr. Dalrymple performed his public
professional duties in that institution; and remember with
pleasure and satisfaction, that I was sometimes able to render
assistance, and save trouble, to one so deserving of the
gratitude and goodwill of those with whom he had to do. At the
period referred to, Mr. Dalrymple was beginning to feel the
burden of heavy surgical responsibilities more weighty than his
somewhat feeble frame would bear; his naturally acute
sensibility was increased by a measure of debility resulting from
overmuch professional occupation. The sudden call to perform
a serious and difficult operation was accompanied sometimes
with a degree of shock to his nerves, which told upon him
injuriously; and the desire he had to save the life of the sufferer
submitted to his charge (always a predominant feeling in his
mind,) would well-nigh overpower him with emotion. I have
often heard him say that he was not able to sleep the night
before he had to perform the operation of lithotomy, although in
such cases his success was great; but he possessed so much
sympathy for his patient, and felt his own responsibility so
strongly, that he failed to secure to his mind that rest which
alone could have enabled him to meet the contingencies of his
profession with composure. This nervous sensibility was due in
part to original constitution, and increased by professional toil.
Sometimes it arises from defective knowledge, or from want of
success; but so far from either being the case with Mr.
Dalrymple, his knowledge was ample, the result of many years’
industrious application of a mind capable of vast acquirements—
sufficient to have given him confidence in the treatment of any
case submitted to his care; his success was beyond that of
many placed in similar circumstances; such, indeed, as might
fairly have been expected from one who had so much sympathy
for suffering humanity, and who devoted the whole energy of
his mind to devise means to relieve it. For a long period no one
but himself, perhaps, was aware of the stress upon his feelings
which his professional duties, so well performed, were wont to
occasion; and when it did become apparent to others, it was
delightful to witness how pleased, how grateful, how kind in
expression he was for any attention, encouragement, or
 assistance offered him; and how highly he estimated the
friendship of those who watched an opportunity to perform
those little offices of kindness and consideration, which,
although difficult to be defined, can always be appreciated by a
sensitive mind and a feeling heart.
“The experience of a long and active professional life endued
Mr. Dalrymple with the valuable qualification of forming a right
judgment in cases of a complex and difficult nature, which was
fully appreciated and acknowledged. The firmness and decision
of his opinion upon a difficult case, when once formed, could
not fail to impress the practitioner by whom he was consulted
with confidence, and his patient with the assurance that
dependence might be placed upon the result of his
deliberations.
“No one who had the privilege of Mr. Dalrymple’s acquaintance
can think of him otherwise than as a kind friend, a highly
intelligent and well-informed man, an amusing and instructive
companion, and a profoundly gifted practitioner of the art and
science it was the business and happiness of his life to pursue.”

Mr. John Greene Crosse.

We make the following extracts from a memoir of Mr. Crosse

published in Dr. Copeman’s History of the Norfolk and Norwich
Hospital.

“John Greene Crosse was the second son of Mr. William Crosse,
of Finborough, in Suffolk, and was born on the 6th of
September, 1790. In order to make known some particulars of
his early life and education, I cannot do better than quote his
own journal, which contains many remarks upon the subject
evidently intended to have formed part of a history of his life.
In April, 1819, he penned the following observations.
“‘I never went to boarding school, which contributed, with many
other occurrences of my subsequent life, to fix me in the
unsocial habits that hitherto never did and never will forsake
me. In my early years, no classical learning, not a line of Latin,
was taught at the proximate market town to which I resorted as
a daily pupil; and my first lessons of reading, arithmetic, and
writing were received from a master of whom I entertained the
greatest horror, for the ferocity of his conduct, the severe
discipline by which he drove into us the simplest rudimental
knowledge. His stern brow, raucous voice, and long cane, are
now livelily depicted to my mind: how much I owe to him, I am
even now, with a long life in retrospect, unable to tell; but I was
glad when circumstances arose that released me from his
tutorage.’
“‘Very small matters, and such as we have no control over, and
call accidental because unable to trace the chain of causes
giving rise to them, influence our mortal destinies. I had
attained my 12th (?) year, under such tremendous instruction as
is related, when a Welsh gentleman making some mistake at
college (not implicating his good character, an informality I
should call it) found it well to rusticate; and taking with him his
premature wife, sought a living by opening a classical school in
Stowmarket. I became one of his early pupils; and but for this
good, easy man’s settling in the town, should never have
launched into such studies as Latin and Greek; of which, it is
true, I did not learn much, nor very accurately. But he was,
nevertheless, a plodding, working man; an increasing family
made him exert his abilities to the utmost; and I got out of him
all the instruction I ever received as a school-boy in the learned
languages. When about fifteen years of age, returning from my
daily school, in a feat in jumping, I had the accident, I ought
not perhaps to say the misfortune, to break my leg. The
respectable village surgeon attended me: he was one of the old
school; of fine, soft, soothing manners, clean dressed, with
powdered head; rode slowly a very well-looking horse; in short,
he was a gentleman, and commanded the respect of every one
when he entered the house; he was also a skilful and kind
surgeon. What wonder that the idea should be awakened in my
mind to be of the medical profession! to be as great a man as
he—the Village Doctor! to whom every one bowed, and who
could relieve pain and cure injuries so quickly and skilfully. I
had conceived an object of ambition, and the idea never
deserted me. I was in a month upon my crutches, and soon
recovered; a surgical case fixed my future destinies.’
“‘I persevered a few years longer at Latin, Greek, French, and
Euclid. My father was successful and able now to place me out
well; wished me to be a lawyer, and I was for a time under the
instruction of a gentleman of that profession—attending
bankruptcy meetings, and feasting at midnight at the expense
of the already distracted creditors. Those were good times for
lawyers. A learned chancellor, whom I met on one such
occasion, I well remember complimenting me on my quickness
in counting money; but all would not do, my mind was
prepossessed—I quitted the law to follow my inclination; I made
my own choice; it was a pledge to success. The surgeon who
cured my leg agreed to take me as his first and only pupil, and I
was accordingly articled in due form for five years.’
“On the 27th of September, 1811, Mr. Crosse went to London for
the purpose of studying his profession in that Metropolis, and
was the following day introduced to Mr., afterwards Sir Charles
Bell, whose pupil he became, with whom he contracted a close
intimacy, and of whose merits as a teacher and man of science
he always spoke in the highest terms of respect and gratitude.
In the following January, he entered to Abernethy’s Lectures;
and in April, 1812, became a student at St. George’s Hospital,
where his industrious habits and intelligence attracted the
particular attention and marked notice of the medical officers of
that noble institution. In the following month, he entered as a
pupil at the Lock Hospital; and in the course of the year,
officiated as House Surgeon during the temporary absence of
the gentleman who occupied that situation. In the following
winter session, commencing October, 1812, he studied under
Brodie, Bell, Brande, Clarke, Home, and others; and remarks in
his journal, ‘very industrious all this winter, sitting up constantly
till past two a.m.’ In March, 1813, he became a dresser to Sir
Everard Home at St. George’s Hospital; attended Midwifery
under Dr. Clarke; and on the 16th of April, passed the College of
Surgeons in London. After a short holiday, he returned to
London on the 13th of May, and attended the Eye Infirmary at
Charter-house Square. In June, he resigned his dressership
under Sir E. Home; became acquainted with the late Mr.
Travers, Abernethy, Sir W. Blizard, and Dr. Macartney, whom he
agreed to accompany to Dublin; and much of his spare time
during this summer was devoted to the study of German, a
language he ever after cultivated that he might enjoy the
profundity and research of the professional literature of that
country.
“Mr. Crosse left England for Dublin on the 2nd of October, 1813,
arriving there the following day. In December he became
Demonstrator of Anatomy under Dr. Macartney, and remained
there until October, 1814, when he returned to London, having
received a very handsome testimonial from the numerous
students of the school in which he taught, as to his ability and
energy in the capacity of their instructor in anatomy.
“On quitting Dublin, Mr. Crosse returned to Suffolk, and was
afterwards introduced to the late Dr. Rigby of Norwich. In
December he went to Paris, where he remained until the end of
February, 1815, during which period he took French Lessons,
wrote his Diary in the French language, and availed himself of
every possible opportunity of increasing his professional
knowledge.
“On the 29th of March, 1815, Mr. Crosse came to Norwich; and
after remaining one year in lodgings, took a house in St. Giles’,
in which he resided for many years. He soon after published his
“Sketches of the Medical Schools of Paris,” and showed, both by
his writings and the industrious pursuit of his professional
avocation, that he was destined to arrive at considerable
eminence in the locality he had chosen for the arena of his
future life. On the 19th of July, 1823, he was the successful
candidate for the appointment of Assistant Surgeon to the
Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. So great was his desire to
become connected with the Hospital, and so strong the
competition in which he was engaged to obtain this object, that
his health gave way under the exertions he made to succeed;
and he was obliged to absent himself for a time, on which
occasion he took a trip to Holland, visiting Brighton on his
return. The result was favourable, and he returned to Norwich
in good health. On the death of Mr. Bond, in 1826, he was
elected full Surgeon to the Hospital, and thus attained one of
the greatest objects of his ambition.
“The rapid rise and progress of Mr. Crosse’s reputation as a
professional man, and the large extent of his private practice,
are too well known to require further notice; but
notwithstanding the unremitting exertions required to fulfil his
private engagements, he never allowed them to interfere with
his public duties; and the devotedness of his service to the
Norfolk and Norwich Hospital was remarkable. It may be truly
said that no private patient received more kindness, skill, and
attention at his hands, than did those who were placed under
his care in the wards of the Hospital.
“As an operating surgeon, Mr. Crosse had but few superiors, and
not many equals. He was possessed of considerable manual
tact and dexterity, which, coupled with a sound judgment as to
the necessity for the performance of an operation, stamped him
as a surgeon of first-rate attainments. In his early professional
life he studied anatomy with great assiduity, and his subsequent
occupation as Demonstrator of Anatomy at Dublin so impressed
the subject upon his memory, that the constitution and form of
the human body were always in his mind’s eye; and thus he was
rendered equal, at all times and upon all occasions, to the
serious emergencies of surgery. In short, he obtained and held
for a long period the foremost rank in his profession in this
district; and such was the quality of his mind, that he would
probably have been pre-eminent in whatever locality it might
have fallen to his lot to be placed.
“In 1819, Mr. Crosse published A History of the Variolous
Epidemic of Norwich, which has been, and is even now, quoted
as an excellent standard work. In 1822 he published Memoirs
of the Life of the late Dr. Rigby, prefixed to the valuable Essay
which the Doctor had published some years before On Uterine
Hæmorrhage.
“In 1835, the Jacksonian Prize was awarded him for his Essay
on the Formation, Constituents, and Extraction of the Urinary
Calculus; and in the same year he received, in consequence of
this Essay, the Diploma of M.D. from the University of
Heidelberg.
“From 1822 to the close of his life, Mr. Crosse contributed many
valuable Papers to different medical periodicals, which are of
deep interest to professional men.
“In 1836, Mr. Crosse was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society—
a distinction which marked him for eminence throughout the
whole civilized world. In 1845, the College of St. Andrew
conferred the Degree of M.D. upon him, and there is scarcely a
medical or surgical society in Europe of which he was not a
member, as well as being an honorary member of the most
eminent societies in Asia and America.
“During the last year of Mr. Crosse’s life (1850), it became
painfully evident to his friends that he was gradually losing that
vigour of mind and body which had so long characterized him;
and at the urgent solicitation of his medical advisers, he was
induced to leave home for a few weeks, when he took the
opportunity of consulting Sir B. Brodie and Dr. Watson in
London, and spent a short time with the late Dr. Mackness at
Hastings, of whose kindness he afterwards spoke in the highest
terms of gratitude. On his return home, he endeavoured to
resume his professional and even his literary avocations; but
although in a degree benefited by his holiday, he gradually lost
power, and it was clear that his race was almost run.”
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