Life
The son of a baker, Whitehead was born in Cambridge and through the patronage of Henry Bromley, afterwards Lord Montfort, was admitted to Winchester College.
He entered Clare College, Cambridge on a scholarship, and became a fellow in 1742. At Cambridge, Whitehead published an epistle On the Danger of writing Verse and some other poems, notably an heroic epistle, Ann Boleyn to Henry the Eighth (1743), and a didactic Essay on Ridicule, also (1743).
In 1745 Whitehead became the tutor of Viscount Villiers, son of the earl of Jersey, and took up his residence in London. There he produced two tragedies: The Roman Father and Creusa, Queen of Athens. The plots of these tragedies are based the Horace of Corneille, and the Ion of Euripides.
After Thomas Gray refused the laureateship, it was passed to Whitehead, who was more acceptable at court as he was the travelling tutor of Viscount Nuneham, son of the Earl of Harcourt, who was Governor to the Prince of Wales (later George III).
Read more about this topic: William Whitehead (English Poet)
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