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Thomas Campbell Biography

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CAMPBELL, Thomas (1777-1844). An English poet, born in Glasgow, July 27, 1777. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, where he was distinguished for his knowledge of Greek literature. In 1795 he went as tutor on the island of Mull. The scenery of the western Highlands, which made a deep impression on his mind, is reflected in his verse. Returning from Mull, he repaired to Edinburgh with the intention of studying law. This plan, however, he soon abandoned for literature. His first poem, The Pleasures of Hope, suggested to him while at Mull, was published in 1799, and went through four editions in a twelvemonth. After its publication Campbell went to Germany, visiting Munich, Leipzig, and Hamburg, where he was staying at the time of the battle of Hohenlinden. During this period he wrote The Exile of Erin and Ye Mariners of England. Returning to Edinburgh, he published, in 1801, Lochiel's Warning and Hohenlinden. In 1803 he proceeded to London and adopted literature as a profession. In 1805, through the influence of Fox, he was granted a royal pension of ₤200 a year. It was in 1805, too, that his Poems appeared. In 1809 appeared Gertrude of Wyoming, which bears the same relation to The Pleasures of Hope that Thomson's Castle of Indolence bears to The Seasons- a less brilliant and striking, but more mature and finished performance. In 1819 he published his Specimens of British Poets, containing an excellent introductory essay on poetry and good biographies of the poets themselves. At this very time he was also delivering lectures on poetry. After this he edited the New Monthly Magazine, contributing to it several poems, among which is The Last Man. In 1824 he published Theodoric and Other Poems. In 1826 he was elected lord rector of the University of Glasgow and received the unusual honor of reëlection in the two following years. He published The Pilgrim of Glencoe and Other Poems in 1842. His later publications added nothing to his fame. He died in Boulogne, France, June 15, 1844, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His lasting fame rests on Hohenlinden and the patriotic lyrics Ye Mariners of England and The Battle of the Baltic, all of which are stirring and abound in lines that now belong to the literature of quotation. Consult: Beattie, Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell (London, 1849); Redding, Literary Reminiscences of Campbell (London, 1860); Poetical Works, ed. by Hill, with Life by Allingham (London, 1891); Complete Works of Thomas Campbell (Oxford Edition, 1908).