Cory, William Johnson

(1823-1892)

   Born Johnson, he changed his name in 1870 on inheriting an estate at Halsdon, Devon. He was educated at Eton College, where he was elected king's scholar in 1831 and Newcastle scholar in 1841, and at King's College, Cambridge, where he gained the chancellor's medal for an English poem on Plato in 1843 and the Craven Scholarship in 1844. His reputation was that he was the most brilliant Eton tutor of his day. Between 1861 and 1865 Cory was a leading figure in opening King's College, Cambridge, previously an exclusive foundation, and in the introduction of mathematics and natural science into its course of study. He left Eton after twenty-six years in 1872 and retired to Hampstead, London. Some of his publications are: Ionica, 1858 (published anonymously; a new enlarged edition reissued in 1891 contains the translation of the epigram of Heraclitus). Lucretilis, 1871. Nuces, 1869-70 (a series of lessons on the new Latin primer). Cory will forever be remembered for "The Eton Boating Song," first performed on 4 June 1863. Some of his other poems: "A Ballad for a Boy," "The Bride's Song," "Parting."

   Sources: Biography.ms (http://www.biography.ms). Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition, 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Oldpoetry (www.oldpoetry.com). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Oxford Book of Children's Verse. Iona Opie and Peter Opie, eds. Oxford University Press, 1973. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.