Thomas Warton

Thomas Warton
Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
In office
20 April 1785 – 21 May 1790
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded byWilliam Whitehead
Succeeded byHenry James Pye
Personal details
Born(1728-01-09)9 January 1728
Basingstoke, Hampshire, England
Died21 May 1790(1790-05-21) (aged 62)
Oxford, England
Parent
Alma materTrinity College, Oxford
OccupationLiterary historian, critic, and poet

Thomas Warton (9 January 1728 – 21 May 1790) was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead.

He is sometimes called Thomas Warton the younger to distinguish him from his father, who had the same name. His most famous poem is The Pleasures of Melancholy, a representative work of the Graveyard Poets.