Thomas Campbell
Thomas Campbell was a Scottish poet born on July 27, 1777, in Glasgow, as the youngest of ten children. Initially pursuing law studies in Edinburgh, he found his true calling in poetry, achieving early recognition with his work "The Pleasures of Hope," published in 1799. His literary career included a stint at The Morning Chronicle in London and numerous publications, including "Gertrude of Wyoming" in 1809 and "Specimens of the British Poets" in 1819. Campbell also had a significant role as an editor for The New Monthly Magazine from 1820 to 1830, although he struggled to replicate his earlier successes in poetry during this period.
His personal life included marriage to Matilda Sinclair and the birth of their son, Thomas Telford Campbell. He received a royal pension for nearly four decades and was elected lord rector of the University of Glasgow. Despite facing challenges in his later work, including a critique of his historical writing, Campbell remained a respected literary figure until his death on June 15, 1844. His legacy is often encapsulated by his notable works, particularly "The Pleasures of Hope," which remains associated with his name.
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Thomas Campbell
Poet
- Born: July 27, 1777
- Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
- Died: June 15, 1844
Biography
Thomas Campbell, the youngest of his family’s ten children, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 27, 1777. He was the son of the second marriage of his father, then sixty-six years of age; his mother’s maiden name was Mary Campbell He attended high school in Glasgow, then went to Edinburgh in 1797 to study the law. He was more drawn, however, to reading and writing poetry. His successful The Pleasures of Hope, published in 1799, ran through four editions in a single year.
With earnings from his poetry, he traveled to Germany to visit some of the continental universities. He returned to Edinburgh after thirteen months to make arrangements for a quarto edition of his poems in London. When the impoverished poet arrived in London, he was offered a position at The Morning Chronicle, where he was commissioned to write poems for the corner of the paper. These poems, however, were said to be in the worst vein. However, some of his work received a better reception. The writer Sir Walter Scott is said to have memorized Campbell’s poems “Hohenlinden” and “Lochiel.”
On October 11, 1803, Campbell married Matilda Sinclair and the couple settled in London. On July 1, 1804, his son, Thomas Telford Campbell, was born. On October 18, 1806, Campbell was granted a pension by the Crown, and he received £184 annually for nearly thirty- eight years. To supplement this income, he compiled his Annals of Britain from the Accession of George II to the Peace of Amiens. He also contributed articles to The Encyclopedia of Edinburgh.
Campbell’s next poetic success was Gertrude of Wyoming in 1809. In 1819 he published his Specimens of the British Poets. In the next year he delivered a course of lectures on poetry at The Surrey Institution, and from that year until 1830 he edited The New Monthly Magazine. While he is thought to have contributed little of his own writing to the magazine, his name was said to have carried its full value and the magazine flourished. After fifteen years, Campbell tried to produce a successful poem to succeed Gertrude but, according to Sir Walter Scott, “the magazine seem[ed] to have paralyzed him.” According to Scott, he came to “[fear] the shadow of his own reputation.”
In 1827 and for two succeeding years, Campbell was elected lord rector of the University of Glasgow. On May 9, 1828, his wife died. In 1830, he gave up editorship of The New Monthly Magazine and started another magazine, The Metropolitan. In 1834 he published, at the request of the actress Sarah Siddons, The Life of Mrs. Siddons. For his grudging efforts, he was hailed by one critic as “the worst theatrical hostorian we have ever read.” With earnings from the book, however, he went to Algiers, and later published Letters from the South , a record of his travels.
Campbell considered Gertrude his favorite composition and claimed, late in his life, to wish never again to see his name before The Pleasure of Hope, the poem with which he had been so long identified. But the inscription on his coffin reads “Thomas Campbell, LL.D., Author of ’The Pleasure of Hope,’ died June 15, 1844, aged 67.”