GLOVER, Richard (1712-1785), an English poet, was born in 1712. He was the son of a London merchant, and received his education at Cheam in Surrey. While there he wrote in his sixteenth year a poem to the memory of Sir Isaac Newton, which was appended by Dr Pemberton to his View of Newton's Philosophy, published in 1728. Though Glover followed the business of his father, he devoted much of his attention to literary pursuits, and he acquired the reputation of being one of the best Greek scholarsand most famous poets of his day. In 1737 he published an epic poem, Leonidas, written in celebration of the defence of Thermopylae. As the praise of liberty formed the subject matter of the poem, it was thought to have a special reference to the politics of the time; and being warmly commended by the regent and his court, by Lord Lyttelton, and the novelist Fielding, it soon passed through several editions. Though exhibiting a well-cultivated taste and some skill in versification, it possesses, however, little poetical merit, and is totally wanting in the higher qualities of epic poetry. A continuation of the Leonidas, entitled Atlιeniad, subsequently appeared, but had little or no popularity. In 1739 Glover published a poem entitled London, or the Progress of Commerce ; and in the same year, with a view to excite the nation against the Spaniards, he wrote a ballad, Hosier's Ghost, which is spirited and effective, and was one of the most popular of its day. He was also the author of two tragedies, Boadicea (1753)and Medea (1761), which, however, on account of their close imitation of Greek models, are unsuited for the modern stage. The success of Glover’s Leonidas led him to take considerable interest in politics, and in 1760 he entered parliament as member for Weymouth, in ...