William Collins

Bran Nicol (University of Surrey)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Biographically, William Collins is an elusive figure. We know the bare facts of his life, but these lead to many more questions than answers. He was born on Christmas Day 1721 in Chichester, West Sussex, to fairly elderly parents. His father, William Collins, was a hatter by trade, who had twice been Mayor of Chichester. From 1725 to 1733 Collins was probably educated at the Prebendal School in the town. At the end of his time there, two crucial events occurred: on 30 September 1733 his father died. Around five months later Collins was admitted as a Scholar to Winchester School in Hampshire, where his contemporaries included Joseph Warton, who became a fellow poet, and remained Collins's close friend throughout his life. Indeed a feature of Collins's biography is the significance of…

1484 words

Citation: Nicol, Bran. "William Collins". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=963, accessed 19 March 2024.]

963 William Collins 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.