Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Biography and Quotes
Born: February 27th, 1807
Commemoration: March 24th, 1882
Nationality: American
75
Years Old
Famously Known For
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow rose to prominence in the 19th century for his works such as The Song of Hiawatha, Voices of the Night and Evangeline. He translated the Divine Comedy book written by Dante thus becoming the first person to achieve that. Henry was among the first people to embrace Fireside Poetry that became popular in his time in New England.
Early Life
Henry Longfellow was born to Zilpah Longfellow and Stephen Longfellow. Henry was named after Henry Wadsworth, his mother’s brother. He was the second born in a family of eight children. Aged three years, Henry started attending the prestigious Portland Academy, where he began learning Latin.
Personal Life
Henry got married to the love of his life, Frances Appleton and together they had eight children.
Career
Longfellow was a professor at Havard University, Massachusetts, in 1834. He published romantic prose in 1839 titled Hyperion, which led to other publications three years later.
While he was teaching in North America, he had a difficult time finding books that had foreign languages. This prompted him to write his books that he would use to teach. In 1854 he resigned from his teaching duties to concentrate on writing poetry.
During this period, he released, Hiawatha, a poem that talked about the kind of life that Native Americans were living. The two books were a significant breakthrough in his writing career.
After the death of his second wife in an inferno, he found comfort in translating Dante’s book Divine Comedy. In 1863 he published a book, Tales of a Wayside Inn, that he had started writing in 1863.
Throughout his life time, Henry became an admired person not only for his creative poems but also for his stand on various issues. His poems and other works were about giving people hope and strength in situations they found hard to overcome.
Death
Henry died on March 24, 1882 after suffering from a long illness.
