John Hawkesworth LLD (c. 1715 – 16 November 1773) was an English writer and book editor, born in London.
Biography
He is said to have been clerk to an attorney, and was certainly self-educated. In 1744, he succeeded
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
as compiler of the parliamentary debates for the ''
Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...
'', and from 1741 to 1749 he contributed poems signed Greville, or H Greville, to that journal. In company with Johnson and others he started a periodical called ''
The Adventurer'', which ran to 140 issues, of which 70 were from the pen of Hawkesworth himself.
[
On account of what was regarded as his powerful defence of morality and religion, Hawkesworth was rewarded by the ]Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
with the degree of LL.D
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...
, In 1754–1755 he published an edition (12 vols) of Swift
Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to:
* SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks
** SWIFT code
* Swift (programming language)
* Swift (bird), a family of birds
It may also refer to:
Organizations
* SWIFT, ...
's works, with a life prefixed which Johnson praised in his ''Lives of the Poets''. A larger edition (27 vols) appeared in 1766–1779. He adapted Dryden
''
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
's ''Amphitryon
Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named e ...
'' for the Drury Lane stage in 1756, and Southerne's ''Oronooko'' in 1759. He wrote the libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
of an oratorio Zimri in 1760, and the next year ''Edgar and Emmeline: a Fairy Tale'' was produced at Drury Lane. His '' Almoran and Hamet'' (1761) was first drafted as a play , and a tragedy based on it by S J Pratt, ''The Fair Circassian
''The Fair Circassian'' is a 1781 tragedy by the British writer Samuel Jackson Pratt. It is an adaptation of the novel '' Almoran and Hamet'' by John Hawkesworth. He wrote the lead role for his friend Sarah Siddons, but due to other commitments ...
'' (1781), met with some success.
He was commissioned by the Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
to edit ''Captain James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
's papers relative to his first voyage.'' For this work, '' An Account of the Voyages undertaken ... for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere and performed by Commodore Byrone'' John Byron'', Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret and Captain Cook (from 1702 to 1771) drawn up from the Journals ...'' (3 vols, 1773)parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
at Bromley, Kent, where he and his wife had kept a school.
Hawkesworth was a close imitator of Johnson both in style and thought, and was at one time on very friendly terms with him. It is said that he presumed on his success, and lost Johnson's friendship as early as 1756.[
]
References
Further reading
*
*
Volume I
External links
John Hawkesworth
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
*
*
by Hawkesworth, 1773, online at the National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkesworth, John
1715 births
1773 deaths
English book editors
English male journalists
English male non-fiction writers
18th-century British journalists