Algernon Charles Swinburne was born on 5 April 1837 in London. His father, Charles Henry, was a retired naval captain, later placed on the reserve list as an admiral. Swinburne's grandfather, Sir John Swinburne, a former Member of Parliament, descended from an old Northumbrian family and associated with several learned societies, significantly influenced Algernon. However, the most important person in the poet's early life was undoubtedly his mother, Lady Jane, daughter of the third Earl of Ashburnham (in whose house Swinburne was to find a wealth of rare books and manuscripts which enriched his knowledge of mediaeval literature). Lady Jane affectionately supervised Algernon's early reading, taught him French and Italian, and encouraged

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First published 01 August 2001

Citation: Louis, Margot. "Algernon Charles Swinburne". The Literary Encyclopedia. 1 August 2001.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5111, accessed 9 February 2010.]