​HIGGINS, MATTHEW JAMES (1810–1868), British writer over the nom-de-plume “Jacob Omnium,” which was the title of his first magazine article, was born in County Meath, Ireland, ​on the 4th of December 1810. His letters in The Times were instrumental in exposing many abuses. He was a frequent contributor to the Cornhill, and was a friend of Thackeray, who dedicated to him The Adventures of Philip, and one of his ballads, “Jacob Omnium’s Hoss,” deals with an incident in Higgins’s career. He died on the 14th of August 1868. Some of his articles were published in 1875 as Essays on Social Subjects.