John Dryden

John Dryden (/ˈdraɪdən/; 19 August [O.S. 9 August] 1631 – 12 May  [O.S. 1 May] 1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668.

He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Walter Scott called him "Glorious John."

Early life

Dryden was born in the village rectory of Aldwincle near Thrapston in Northamptonshire, where his maternal grandfather was Rector of All Saints. He was the eldest of fourteen children born to Erasmus Dryden and wife Mary Pickering, paternal grandson of Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Baronet (1553–1632) and wife Frances Wilkes, Puritan landowning gentry who supported the Puritan cause and Parliament. He was a second cousin once removed of Jonathan Swift. As a boy Dryden lived in the nearby village of Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire where it is likely that he received his first education. In 1644 he was sent to Westminster School as a King's Scholar where his headmaster was Dr. Richard Busby, a charismatic teacher and severe disciplinarian. Having recently been re-founded by Elizabeth I, Westminster during this period embraced a very different religious and political spirit encouraging royalism and high Anglicanism. Whatever Dryden's response to this was, he clearly respected the Headmaster and would later send two of his sons to school at Westminster.

John Dryden (disambiguation)

John Dryden (1631–1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright.

John Dryden may also refer to:

John Dryden (MLA)

John Dryden (June 5, 1840 – July 29, 1909) was a farmer and politician in Ontario, Canada.

Early life

Dryden was the son of James Dryden (1820–1881), a farmer, businessman and politician. The senior Dryden owned a successful farm near Winchester (later Brooklin), was a Reeve of Whitby Township, President of the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway and a director of the Ontario Bank. Educated in nearby Whitby, John Dryden became the manager of his father's farm, doubling its size. He also became an expert breeder of sheep, horses, and cattle, and served in a leadership role in many agricultural and animal husbandry organizations.

Dryden married Mary Lydia Holman in 1867. They had three sons (two of whom died in infancy) and five daughters.

Political career

Dryden's political career began in the local arena; in 1863, he was elected to the Whitby Township council, becoming Reeve in 1869 and 1870. In 1879, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as the Liberal member for the provincial Ontario South riding. He served in this capacity until 1905.