John Oldmixon (1672/3–1742) was one of the most prolific authors of his time. His main activity lay as a historian and political pamphleteer, both in the service of Whig ideology, although he is remembered today chiefly as the object of fierce criticism by Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson. He belonged to an ancient Somerset family, and his own closest links were with Bridgwater, the likely place of his birth. Oldmixon’s father, a merchant, died in 1679 after suffering bankruptcy owing to losses in the Virginia trade: transatlantic commerce remained a lifelong interest of his son. As a result the younger John was forced to mortgage the family estate near Weston-super-Mare in 1696 and subsequently gave up possession, an event which may have given him an acute sense of having lost the…
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Citation: Rogers, Pat. "John Oldmixon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 July 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3409, accessed 16 April 2024.]
