William Gifford (1756 - 1826), critic and poet, was born of humble parentage at Ashburton, Devonshire, and after being for a short time at sea, was apprenticed to a cobbler. Having, however, shown signs of superior ability, and a desire for learning, he was befriended and educated, ultimately at Oxford, where he was appointed a Bible clerk in Exeter College, and graduated in 1782. Becoming known to Lord Grosvenor, he was patronised by him, and in course of time produced his first poem, The Baviad (1794), a satire directed against the Delia Cruscans, a clique of very small and sentimental poets, which at once quenched their little tapers. This was followed by another satire, The Maeviad, against some minor dramatists. His last effort in this line was his Epistle to Peter Pindar (Dr. Walcot), inspired by personal enmity, which evoked a reply, A Cut at a Cobbler. These writings had established the reputation of Gifford as a keen, and even ferocious critic, and he was appointed in 1797 editor of the Anti-Jacobin, which Canning and his friends had just started, and of the Quarterly Review (1809-24). He also brought out editions of Massinger, Ben Jonson, and Ford. As a critic he had acuteness; but he was one-sided, prejudiced, and savagely bitter, and much more influenced in his judgments by the political opinions than by the literary merits of his victims. In his whole career, however, he displayed independence and spirit in overcoming the disadvantages of his early life, as well as gratitude to those who had served him. He held various appointments which placed him above financial anxiety. 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A critic (derived from the ancient Greek word krites meaning a judge) is a person who offers a value judgement or an interpretation. ... Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. ... Ashburton is a small market town on the fringes of Dartmoor in Devon, lying adjacent to the A38 Devon Expressway. ... Devon is a county in South West England, bordering on Cornwall to the west, Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The Right Honourable Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor (June 18, 1731–August 5, 1802) was the son of Sir Robert Grosvenor, 6th Baronet. ... Quarterly Review was a review journal started by John Murray, the celebrated London publisher, in February 1809, in rivalry with the Edinburgh Review, which had been seven years in possession of the field, and was exerting, as he judged, an evil influence on public opinion; in this enterprise he was... Philip Massinger (1583 - 1640) was an English dramatist. ... Benjamin Jonson (June 11, 1572 – August 6, 1637) was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. ... John Ford (baptized April 17, 1586 - c. ...

This article incorporates text from: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J.M. Dent & sons; New York, E.P. Dutton. A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature is a collection of biographies of writers by John W. Cousin, published around 1910. ...