Herbert, William

   1. (1778-1847)

   The son of Henry Herbert, first earl of Caernarvon, he was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He was a member of Parliament, practiced at the bar, and was ordained in 1814 after which he was rector of Sofforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, until 1840, when he became dean of Manchester. He died suddenly in London. He was a classical scholar, a linguist, and a naturalist, and discovered the bulb Nerine humilis. An annual medal is awarded in his name, the highest honor the International Bulb Society can bestow upon a person for meritorious achievement in advancing the knowledge of bulbous plants. Some of his poetry publications: Ossiani Darthula, 1801 (a small volume of Greek and Latin poetry). Select Icelandic Poetry, 1804 and 1806 (translated from the originals). Helga, 1815 (a poem in seven cantos). Hedin, or the Spectre of the Tomb, 1820 (a tale in verse from Danish history). Wizard Wanderer of Jutland, 1820-1821. Attila, or the Triumph of Christianity, 1838 (in twelve books). The Christian, 1846 (a collection of poems). Some of his poems: "Ode to Despair," "The Kiss; A Riddle," "The Morning Song," "The Song of Vala," "The Waterfall."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html).

   2. , 3rd Earl Of Pembroke

(1580-1630)

   Born at Wilton House, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, he spent two years at New College, Oxford, and later gave his name to Pembroke College, Oxford. He spent a month in the Fleet prison and was banished from court in 1601 when he produced an illegitimate son to one of the ladies of the court. James I reinstated him and, then an earl, he was made a knight of the Garter in 1603; he entertained the king at Wilton House the same year. He was active in establishing an English foothold in New England and in the West Indies and was a member of the East India Company. He died at his London house and was buried in the family vault in Salisbury Cathedral. In 1660 the younger John Donne edited and published Herbert's Poems (shortened title), which included poems by several of Herbert's contemporaries. The whole volume was reprinted by Sir S.E. Brydges in 1817. A religious work, Of the Internal and Eternal Nature of Man in Christ (1654), is attributed to him. Some of his other poems: "A Paradox," "Disdain Me Still," "Song," "Urania."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Elizabethan Lyrics. Norman Ault, ed. William Sloane Associates, 1949. The Anchor Antholog y of Seventeenth-Century Verse, Vol. II. Louis L. Martz and Richard S. Sylvester, ed. Doubleday Anchor Books, 1969. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org).