John Gilbert Cooper or John Gilbert (24 August 1722 – 21 April 1769) was a British poet and writer.

Biography

John Gilbert was born in Lockington, Leicestershire. His father was left a legacy which included Thurgarton Priory which he was allowed if he changed his name to Cooper by private act of Parliament, ( 9 Geo. 2. c. ''27'' ). John Gilbert Cooper was educated locally and then at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

.Robin Dix, ‘Cooper, John Gilbert (1722–1769)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, 200
accessed 28 May 2011
/ref> He completed his education at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Cooper first published poetry in 1742 occasionally until he became a regular contributor to ''The Museum'' which was published by

Robert Dodsley Robert Dodsley (13 February 1703 – 23 September 1764) was an English bookseller, publisher, poet, playwright, and miscellaneous writer. Life Dodsley was born near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where his father was master of the free school. H ...

. His contributions to Dodsley's journal was under the nom de plume of ''Philaretes''.John Gilbert Cooper

Alexander Chalmers Alexander Chalmers (; 29 March 1759 – 29 December 1834) was a Scottish writer. He was born in Aberdeen. Trained as a doctor, he gave up medicine for journalism, and was for some time editor of the ''Morning Herald''. Besides editions of the w ...

, ''Works of the English Poets'', 1810 Cooper's claim to notability comes from his prose, poetry and a public row he had with

William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Lif ...

. The row arose from a book he published on

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

where his work ignored the established view of many including Warburton. Warburton responded to Cooper's 1749, ''Life of Socrates'' with an ''Essay on Criticism'' in 1751. Cooper unwisely accused Warburton of personal attack in ''Cursory Remarks on Mr Warburton's New Edition of Mr Pope's Works'' - it was unwise as he also made personal attacks on Warburton.

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

later described Cooper as the Punchinello of literature.James Boswell, Life Cooper's 1754 ''Letters Concerning Taste'' was said to be the first book on the subject of taste. Cooper died in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

having devoted the last few years of his life to the ''Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce'', but he left when he failed to get elected as vice president. Cooper died early after suffering with kidney stones and was buried at Thurgarton.

Legacy

Besides Cooper's books he also inspired a noted painting by

Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...

. The painting entitled '' Miravan Breaking Open the Tomb of his Ancestors'' was based on a story in Cooper's ''Letters of Taste''. Cooper had recounted a story where a greedy nobleman despoils his ancestor's grave in search of riches to find himself cursed by his ancestor.Letters of Taste
John Gilbert Cooper, Letter X, P.69, accessed May 2011

References

External links

John Gilbert Cooper
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, John Gilbert 1722 births 1769 deaths People from North West Leicestershire District British poets British male poets