Campbell , Thomas , 1777-1844 , poet

Thomas Campbell was born in 1777, the son of a Glasgow merchant who lost his fortune whilst Thomas was a youth. He was educated at Glasgow Grammar School, and became a classics scholar at Glasgow University, 1791-1796, where he participated in debates and undertook poetical translations from Greek. Following a short period as a tutor in Mull, 1795, and Argyllshire, 1796, he settled in Edinburgh as a law clerk and tutor. His first publication was Pleasures of Hope (Mundell and Son, Edinburgh, 1799). Between Jun 1800 and March 1801, Campbell travelled in Germany and Denmark, and stayed in London on his return, where he was well received by literary society. After a brief return to Scotland, he returned to London, 1804, where he lived for the remainder of his life, making a living as a man of letters. Pensioned by the Crown in 1805, he continued to write, issuing Poems in 1805, and Specimens of the British Poets (John Murray, London, 1819). Other works included Gertrude of Wyoming; a Pennsylvanian tale; and other poems (Longman & Co, London, 1809), Life of Mrs Siddons (Effingham Wilson, London, 1834), Letters from the South (Henry Colburn, London, 1837), and The Pilgrim of Glencoe, and other poems (Edward Moxon, London, 1842). He edited several periodicals, including The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, 1820-1830, The Scenic Annual, 1838, and The Metropolitan, a monthly journal of literature, science, and the fine arts. He was also Lord Rector of Glasgow University, 1826-1829. Campbell died at Bologne in 1844 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.