Background
Abbott was born in Dublin and was educated at Trinity College.
Abbott was born in Dublin and was educated at Trinity College.
In 1887 he was elected librarian in Trinity and, in 1900, completed catalogues of the library"s manuscript holdings.
He took his degree in 1851 and was made a fellow of the college in 1854. He obtained an Master of Arts and a Doctor of Literature He occupied the chair of moral philosophy (1867-1872), of biblical Greek (1875-1888), and of Hebrew (1879–1900).
He was one of a group of Irish scholars, including J. P. Mahaffy, who made significant contributions to the dissemination and study of the works of Immanuel Kant.
His translation of Kant"s "Critique of Practical Reason" remained the standard English version of the text well into the 20th century. In June 1901, he received an honorary doctorate in Divinity from the University of Glasgow.
He died in Killiney in Dublin on 18 December 1913.