GLOVER

glover, richard (1712-1785), english poet, son of richard glover, a hamburg merchant, was born in london in 1712. he was educated at cheam in surrey. while there he wrote in his sixteenth year a poem to the memory of sir isaac newton, which was prefixed by dr pemberton to his _view of newton's philosophy_, published in 1728. in 1737 he published an epic poem in praise of liberty, _leonidas_, which was thought to have a special reference to the politics of the time; and being warmly commended by the prince of wales and his court, it soon passed through several editions. in 1739 glover published a poem entitled _london, or the progress of commerce_; and in the same year, with a view to exciting the nation against the spaniards, he wrote a spirited ballad, _hosier's ghost_, very popular in its day. he was also the author of two tragedies, _boadicea_ (1753) and _medea_ (1761), written in close imitation of greek models. the success of glover's _leonidas_ led him to take considerable interest in politics, and in 1761 he entered parliament as member for weymouth. he died on the 25th of november 1785. the _athenaid_, an epic in thirty books, was published in 1787, and his diary, entitled _memoirs of a distinguished literary and political character from 1742 to 1757_, appeared in 1813. glover was one of the reputed authors of _junius_; but his claims--which were advocated in an _inquiry concerning the author of the letters of junius_ (1815), by r. duppa--rest on very slight grounds.