Langhorne, John

(1735-1779)

   The younger son of the Rev. Joseph Langhorne of Winton in the parish of Kirkby Stephen, Westmoreland, he was private tutor to a family near Ripon. After a year at Clare Hall, Cambridge, he became a clergyman in London. During his time as tutor he started writing poetry and in 1764 he began writing for the Monthly Review. His Genius and Valor: a Scotch Pastoral was published in 1764, and in 1766 he published his Poetical Works, which included the dramatic poem The Fatal Prophecy. In the same year he became rector of Blagdon, Somerset, where he died and was buried. With his older brother William he published a translation of Plutarch's Lives in 1770. Some of his other publications: The Death of Adonis, 1759. The Tears of Music, 1760. A Hymn to Hope, 1761. The Viceroy, 1762. The Visions of Fancy, in Four Elegies, 1762. The Origin of the Veil, 1773. Milton's Italian Poem, 1778 (translated into Italian). Some of his other poems: "Autumnal Elegy," "Caesar's Dream, Before His Invasion of Britain," "Owen of Carron," "The Amiable King," "The Bee-Flower," "The Country Justice," "The Visions of Fancy."

   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). 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. The Poetical Works of John Langhorne. Thomas Park, ed. J. Sharpe, 1808.