Charles Stuart Calverley

Born in Worcestershire on December 22, 1831, he was originally named Charles Stuart Blayds and later took the family name Calverley. He studied first at Oxford and then at Cambridge, where his brilliance in classics and his reputation for sparkling wit helped make him a memorable literary figure.

He became best known for light verse, parodies, and translations from Greek and Latin. Readers have often remembered him as one of the key voices in a distinctly university style of humor: clever, polished, and full of literary play.

A serious riding accident changed the course of his life and limited his ability to pursue a legal career, but he continued to write and gained lasting admiration for the elegance and comic precision of his work. He died in Folkestone on February 17, 1884.