1799 - Ruth

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William Wordsworth is one of the most famous English poets who traveled widely but lived in what is now the Lake District National Park.

Wordsworth was born April 7th 1770 in the village of Cockermouth, Cumbria. When he was eight years of age his mother died and this event seems to permeate his later work.

Wordsworth attended Hawkshead Grammar school and this is where he began writing verse. During his time at Hawkshead, his father died and, with his four siblings, he was orphaned.

Wordsworth went on to study at St. John's, Cambridge. Before his final semester, he set out on a walking tour of Europe, which informed much of his writing.

Putting this into context, on his travels through France, he traveled during the height of the French Revolution.

Wordsworth, through his experiences, was well-grounded and had great empathy for his fellow men and women of ordinary standing in society.

At the time in which he lived, mortality was very much a prevalent issue within society in general and this is reflected in his work.

Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson in 1802 (though he did have a daughter (Caroline) out of wedlock) and they had five children together.

In 1812, whilst living in Grasmere in Cumbria, Catherine and John, two of their children, died.

Wordsworth was great friends with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, with whom he published his Lyrical Ballads in 1798.

Wordsworth's final years were spent at Rydal Mount (Rydal Falls is a famous, local landmark. His daughter, Dora, died in 1847, after which, Wordsworth more or less ceased to write poetry.

Wordsworth died at Rydal Mount on April 23rd 1850. His widow, Mary, published The Prelude three months after his death.