1820 in literature explained
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1820.
Events
- January 16 – Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery by "Northamptonshire peasant poet" John Clare is published in England by John Taylor.[1]
- April 22 – Walter Scott is created 1st baronet of Abbotsford in the County of Roxburgh in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom.[2]
- September – Poet John Keats, suffering from tuberculosis, leaves London to take up residence in the house on the Spanish Steps in Rome where he will die in 1821.
- November 20 – An 80-ton sperm whale attacks the Essex, a whaleship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, 2,000 miles off the western coast of South America. Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick is in part inspired by this story.
- unknown dates
- More than 20 years after the poet's death, Robert Chambers edits and publishes The Songs of Robert Burns.[3]
- Thomas Kendall has the first book printed in the Māori language, A korao no New Zealand; or, the New Zealander's first book; being an attempt to compose some lessons for the instruction of the natives, published in Sydney, Australia.
- The first translation of the Old English epic poem Beowulf into a modern language, Danish, Bjovulfs Drape, by N. F. S. Grundtvig, is published.[4]
- The Cambridge Apostles, an intellectual discussion group, is established at the University of Cambridge in England.[5]
New books
Fiction
Children
- Maria Hack
- English Stories, illustrating some of the most interesting events and characters between the Accession of Alfred and the Death of John
- English Stories. Second series, between the Accession of Henry the Third and the Death of Henry the Sixth
- Mary Shelley – Maurice, or the Fisher's Cot (written 1820 then lost, published 1997)
Drama
Poetry
Non-fiction
Births
- January 17 – Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (died 1849)[6]
- January 30 – Concepción Arenal, Spanish feminist writer and activist (died 1893)[7]
- February 28 – John Tenniel, English illustrator and cartoonist (died 1914)[8]
- March 2 – Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker), Dutch writer (died 1887)[9]
- March 17 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and novelist (died 1897)[10]
- March 30 – Anna Sewell, English novelist (died 1878)
- April 4 – Mkrtich Khrimian, Armenian Catholicos, essayist and poet (died 1907)
- April 16 – Charlotte A. Jerauld, American poet and story writer (died 1845)[11]
- April 26 – Alice Cary, American poet and short-story writer (died 1871)[12]
- April 27 – Herbert Spencer, English philosopher (died 1903)[13]
- June 21 – James Halliwell-Phillipps, English bibliophile (died 1889)
- August 13 – Sir George Grove, English writer and lexicographer on music (died 1900)
- September 2 – Lucretia Peabody Hale, American journalist and author (died 1900)[14]
- September 17 – Émile Augier, French dramatist (died 1889)[15]
- October 14 – John Harris, English poet (died 1884)
- November 23 (December 5 N.S.) – Afanasy Fet, Russian lyric poet, essayist and short-story writer (died 1892)
- November 28 – Friedrich Engels, German socialist writer (died 1895)[16]
Deaths
- February 5 – William Drennan, Irish poet, radical and educationalist (born 1754)
- February 23 – Alojzy Feliński, Polish poet (born 1771)[17]
- March 20 – Eaton Stannard Barrett, Irish satirical poet and novelist (born 1786)[18]
- April 2 – Thomas Brown, Scottish philosopher and poet (born 1778)[19]
- May 1 – Richmal Mangnall, English schoolbook writer (born 1769)
- July 16 – William Hazlitt Sr., Irish writer, radical and Unitarian minister, father of William Hazlitt (born 1737)[20]
- August 23 – Michel de Cubières, French poet, dramatist and historian (born 1752)
- September 16 – Nguyễn Du, Vietnamese poet (born 1766)
- October 5 – Augustin Barruel, French Jesuit priest and writer (born 1741)
- November 8 – Lavinia Stoddard, American poet and educationist (born 1787)[21]
- November 12 – William Hayley, English poet and biographer (born 1745)[22]
- Probable – Dionisie Eclesiarhul, Wallachian scribe, chronicler and illustrator (born c. 1740)
Notes and References
- [Octavius Graham Gilchrist|[Gilchrist, Octavius]]
- Book: Cox, Michael . The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature . Oxford University Press . 2004 . 0-19-860634-6 . registration .
- Book: Robert Burns. The life and works of Robert Burns, ed. by R. Chambers. Libr. ed. 1856. 2.
- Book: SAJ Bradley. N.F.S. Grundtvig, A Life Recalled: An Anthology of Biographical Source-Texts. 31 December 2008. Aarhus University Press. 978-87-7934-007-7. 436.
- Book: A. C. Grayling. Andrew Pyle. Naomi Goulder. Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy. 28 June 2006. Bloomsbury Academic. 978-1-84371-141-4. 123.
- Web site: Anne Brontë British author . Encyclopedia Britannica . 8 April 2019 . en.
- Book: Calendar of Spanish Anniversaries. 1935. Tardy publishing Company, Incorporated.
- Book: Sir John Tenniel. 1914. Bradbury, Agnew & Company. 1863.
- Book: Multatuli. Max Havelaar, Or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company. 1982. University of Massachusetts Press. 339. 978-0-87023-360-9 .
- Book: Shattock, Joanne. The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1993. 225. 978-0-19214-176-7.
- Book: Jerauld. Charlotte Ann Fillebrown. Bacon. Henry. Poetry and prose. Public domain. 1860. A. Tompkins. 22–.
- Book: Edwin Francis Hatfield. The Poets of the Church: A Series of Biographical Sketches of Hymn-writers with Notes on Their Hymns. 1884. A. D. F. Randolph. 133.
- Book: Daniel Greenleaf Thompson. Herbert Spencer: His Life, Writings, and Philosophy. 1889. G.H. Ellis. 4.
- Book: Kuiper, Kathleen. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield. Merriam-Webster. 1995. 978-0-87779-042-6. 508.
- Book: Charles Dudley Warner. A Library of the World's Best Literature - Ancient and Modern - Vol.XLII (Forty-Five Volumes); Dictionary of Authors (A-J). 1 July 2008. Cosimo, Inc.. 978-1-60520-248-8. 29.
- Book: V. Ė Kunina. Frederick Engels: His Life and Work: Documents and Photographs. 1987. Progress. 18. 978-0-7147-2582-6 .
- Book: 4: Oświecenie . Bibliografia Literatury Polskiej – Nowy Korbut . Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy . Warszawa . 1966 . 451–456. pl.
- Book: The Ladies' Monthly Museum. 1820. J.W.H. Payne. 53.
- Book: Trevor Royle . Macmillan Companion to Scottish Literature . 11 November 1984 . Macmillan International Higher Education . 978-1-349-07587-4 . 43.
- Book: Wu . Duncan . William Hazlitt: The First Modern Man . Oxford University Press . Oxford & New York . 2008.
- Book: Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. Rufus Wilmot Griswold. The Female Poets of America. Public domain. 1858. Ardent Media.
- Book: Thomas Dugdale . England & Wales delineated, by T. Dugdale, assisted by W. Burnett. (Curiosities of Great Britain) . 1830 . 461.
