Editing William King (poet)

{{Short description|English poet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''William King''' (1663–1712) was an [[England|English]] [[poet]].

==Life==
Born in [[London]], [[England]], the son of Ezekiel King, he was related to the family of [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon]].  From [[Westminster School]], where he was a scholar under [[Richard Busby]], at the age of 18, he was elected to [[Christ Church, Oxford]], in 1681. There, he is said to have dedicated himself completely to his studies. Reportedly, after eight years, he had read over 22,000 books and manuscripts,<ref>Report attributed to [[Joseph Browne (physician)|Joseph Browne]] in the ODNB.</ref> a figure reduced to about 7,000 in seven years by [[Thomas Young (scientist)|Thomas Young]].<ref>{{cite book| first=Andrew | last=Robinson | author-link=W. Andrew Robinson | title=[[The Last Man Who Knew Everything]] | location=London | publisher=Plume | year=2007 | page=25 }}</ref>

In 1688, he graduated with an M.A. Taking up the [[Civil law (common law)|civil law]], he became a doctor in 1692 and was admitted as an advocate at [[Doctors' Commons]]. In 1702, having moved to [[Ireland]], he was made Judge of the [[Admiralirt Division|Admiralty]], Commissioner of the Prizes, Keeper of the Records in Birmingham's Tower, and Vicar-General to [[Narcissus Marsh]], the primate. King found a friend in [[Anthony Upton (judge)|Anthony Upton]], one of the High Court judges, who had a house called [[Mountown]], near [[Dublin]], where King frequently stayed. Both men were severely criticised by their political opponents for neglecting their official duties; it was said that they had no ambition but to live out their days in rural retirement.

In 1708, when [[Thomas Wharton, 5th Baron Wharton|Lord Wharton]] was sent to govern [[Ireland]], the King returned to London.

In 1710, he became a supporter of the [[High Church]] party, on the side of [[Henry Sacheverell]], and was supposed to have had some part in setting up ''[[The Examiner (1710-1714)|The Examiner]]''.  He was suspicious of the operations of [[Whiggism]], and he criticised [[White Kennet]]'s adulatory sermon at the funeral of [[William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire|the Duke of Devonshire]].

In the autumn of 1712, King's health declined, and he died on [[Christmas Day]].{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

==Works==
In 1688, King published ''Reflections upon Mons Varillas's History of Heresy'', written with [[Edward Hannes]], a confutation of [[Antoine Varillas]]'s account of [[John Wycliffe]].<ref>{{ODNBweb|id=15604|title=King, William|first=Hugh de|last=Quehen}}</ref> He had already made some translations from the [[French language]] and written some humorous and satirical pieces, and in 1694, [[Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth|Molesworth]] published his ''Account of Denmark'', in which he treated the [[Danish people|Danes]] and their monarch with great contempt. This book offended [[Prince George of Denmark]], the consort of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]], and the Danish Minister protested.

In 1699, he published ''A Journey to London'', following the method of Dr. [[Martin Lister]], who had published ''A Journey to Paris''.  And in 1700, he satirised the [[Royal Society]]&mdash;or at least, Sir [[Hans Sloane]], their president&mdash;in two dialogues entitled ''The Transactioner''. At Mountown, the home of his friend Mr Justice Upton, he wrote the poem ''Mully of Mountown''.

Back in London, King published some essays called ''Useful Transactions'', including ''Voyage to the Island of Cajamai''. He then wrote the ''Art of Love'', a poem, and in 1709 he imitated [[Horace]] in an ''Art of Cookery'', which he published with some letters to Lister. The same year he published three issues of philosophical parodies under the title ''Useful Transactions in Philosophy and Other Sorts of Learning''. ''The History of the {{linktext|Heathen}} Gods'', a book composed for schools, was written in 1711. The same year, he published ''Rufinus'', a historical essay and a political poem on the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]] and his adherents.

==References==
*[[Samuel Johnson|Johnson, Samuel]].  "William King."  In ''Lives of the English Poets.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.online-literature.com/samuel-johnson/3209/|title = King by Samuel Johnson}}</ref>
*Andrew Robinson, ''The Last Man Who Knew Everything'' (London: Plume, 2007), p.&nbsp;25.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

;Attribution
{{Source-attribution|Samuel Johnson's ''[[Lives of the English Poets]]''.}}

== External links==
{{Wikiquote|William King}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, William}}
[[Category:1663 births]]
[[Category:1712 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century English poets]]
[[Category:17th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:18th-century English poets]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:Members of Doctors' Commons]]
[[Category:18th-century English male writers]]