Born at
Rhyl,
Flintshire,
Wales on 4 August 1844, he was second son of Henry James Wharton, vicar of
Mitcham; his mother was a daughter of
Thomas Peregrine Courtenay, and a younger brother, Henry Thornton Wharton (1846–1895) was a medical man known as an ornithologist and for an edition of
Sappho. He was educated as a day-boy at
Charterhouse School under Richard Elwyn and elected to a scholarship at
Trinity College, Oxford in 1862. He graduated as a BA in 1868 and an MA in 1870. Despite poor health and eyesight, he won the Ireland scholarship in his second year. He was placed in the first class in classical moderations and in the final classical school. In 1868 Wharton was elected to a fellowship at
Jesus College, where he was assistant tutor and Latin lecturer. He died at Oxford on 4 June 1896, and his remains were cremated at
Woking. ==Works==