John Dryden

Born in Northamptonshire in 1631 and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, he rose to become one of the central literary figures of 17th-century England. His career stretched across poetry, stage drama, criticism, and translation, and his influence was so strong that the later 1600s are often described as the Age of Dryden.

He became England's first Poet Laureate in 1668 and was also appointed royal historiographer soon after. Alongside nearly 30 plays, he wrote major poems and essays that helped define Restoration taste, and his critical writing became especially important for later readers and writers.

He is also remembered for his powerful verse satires and for his translations of classical authors, especially Virgil. Dryden died in 1700, but his clear, energetic style and his range across so many forms kept him at the center of the English canon for centuries.