Thomas Dunn English

author

Thomas Dunn English

1819–1902

A restless 19th-century talent, this American writer moved easily between poetry, journalism, medicine, law, and politics. He is best remembered for the once-beloved song "Ben Bolt" and for a lively literary career that even brought him into a feud with Edgar Allan Poe.

1 Audiobook

The boy's book of battle-lyrics : a collection of verses illustrating some notable events in the history of the United States of America, from the colonial period to the outbreak of the sectional war

The boy's book of battle-lyrics : a collection of verses illustrating some notable events in the history of the United States of America, from the colonial period to the outbreak of the sectional war

by Thomas Dunn English

About the author

Born near Philadelphia on June 29, 1819, Thomas Dunn English built an unusually varied career. He studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, later read law, and worked in journalism while steadily publishing poems, stories, and novels. That mix of professions gives his writing a practical, energetic feel, rooted in the bustling literary world of his time.

His best-known work was "Ben Bolt," a poem published in 1843 that became a hugely popular song. English also edited and founded periodicals, wrote fiction and verse, and took part in the sharp-edged literary debates of the mid-1800s. He is often remembered today for his long-running quarrel with Edgar Allan Poe, a reminder that he was very much part of the era's competitive magazine culture.

Later in life, English turned more fully toward public service. A Democrat from New Jersey, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895. He died in Newark, New Jersey, on April 1, 1902, leaving behind the record of a man who never seemed content to be only one thing at a time.