Kingsley, Charles

(1819-1875)

   Son of a clergyman, he was born at Holne Vicarage, Devonshire. Educated at King's College, London, he graduated in classics from Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1842. In the same year he was ordained as curate of Eversley-on the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire-and became rector in 1844. He wrote many sermons, scientific and historical essays, pamphlets on social issues, historical romances, poems, and children's books. His novels Alton Locke (1850) and Yeast, a Problem (1851) take up the suffering of the working classes. He became chaplain to Queen Victoria (1859), professor of modern history at Cambridge (1860-1869), and canon of Westminster (1873). He died at Eversley, where he was buried; he is commemorated by a bust in the nave of Westminster Abbey. Some of his other publications: Westword Ho!, 1855. The Heroes, 1856. Andromeda, and Other Poems, 1858. The WaterBabies, 1863. Poems, 1875 (includes The Saint's Tragedy). Some of his ballads/poems: "A Christmas Carol," "A New Forest Ballad," "Alton Locke's Song," "Down to the Mothers," "Frank Leigh's Song," "Killarney," "The Watchman," "The Sands of Dee," "The Three Fishers."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Poems. Vol. 2 of Charles Kingsley. Macmillan and Co., 1884. 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 Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.