George Chapman

Born around 1559 near Hitchin in Hertfordshire, George Chapman became an important English poet, dramatist, and translator of the late Elizabethan and early Stuart periods. He is especially remembered for his translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey, which for generations were among the most famous English versions of Homer.

Chapman was admired for his strong, learned style and for the serious, philosophical tone in much of his writing. Alongside his translations, he wrote plays for the London stage, including comedies and tragedies, and his work shows a deep engagement with classical literature and Stoic thought.

He died in London on May 12, 1634. Though modern readers often meet him first through his Homer, Chapman has continued to interest scholars and general readers alike as a vivid bridge between the world of classical epic and the drama and poetry of Renaissance England.