William Gifford
William Gifford (born April 17, 1756 in Ashburton in Devonshire , † December 31, 1826 in London ) was an English poet and translator.
William Gifford (spr. Ghifförd), orphaned at an early age, first a cabin boy, then a shoemaker, was enabled in his 20th year by high patrons to study at Oxford.
Here Lord Grosvenor chose him to guide his son, with whom G. toured several European countries. On his return he published the anti- democracy magazine The Anti-Jacobin in 1797 and was rewarded with a lucrative post for his ministerial zeal.
He founded the Quarterly Review in 1809 , which he edited until 1824, and died on December 31, 1826. After G. had earlier a replica of Persius' first satire, The Baviad (1794), and a literary one directed against the dramatic poets of his time Satire, The Maeviad (1795), his translation of Juvenal was published in 1803 (with autobiographical foreword, new edition 1817, 2 vols.).
After quitting Anti-Jacobin , he studied the older English playwrights, got a new edition of Philip Massinger's (1805) and Ben Jonson's works (1816), and prepared better editions of John Ford and James Shirley's plays, but only afterwards appeared to his death.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gifford, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English poet and translator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 17, 1756 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ashburton |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 31, 1826 |
| Place of death | London |