Thomas Campbell

Born in Glasgow in 1777, he rose to fame very young when The Pleasures of Hope appeared in 1799 and became a major success. He later wrote poems that remained especially popular with readers, including "Ye Mariners of England," "Hohenlinden," and "The Soldier's Dream."

Though remembered mainly as a poet, he was active in public and literary life as well. Sources describe him as one of the figures involved in the plan that led to the founding of what became University College London, and as a supporter of Polish independence through the Literary Association of the Friends of Poland.

He died in Boulogne, France, in 1844. Today he is often read as a bridge figure: a poet whose language still carries the balance and polish of an earlier age, but whose best-known lines have the feeling and sweep that readers connect with Romantic poetry.