Dr. John Aikin

John Aikin was the son of the Rev. John Aikin (1713-80), brother of Mrs. Anna Laetitia Barbauld, and father of Lucy Aikin (1781-1864). He studied at Warrington Academy, and was apprenticed as a surgeon and attended medical lectures given by Dr. John Hunter (1770) before taking a medical degree at Leyden (1784). He taught at Warrington, reviewed for the Monthly Review (1771-1784) and practiced medicine at Yarmouth (1786-1792), before moving to London to avoid retribution for his political views. Aikin edited the Monthly Magazine (1796-1806), Annual Register (1811-15), and a supplement to Johnson's British Poets (1820).

TEXT RECORDS:

1772Essay on Ballads and Pastoral Songs.
1796On the Poetry of Dr. Goldsmith.
1796Review of James Bland Burges's Birth and Triumph of Love.
1798An Essay on the Personification of Abstract Ideas in Poetry. [Part I.]
1798On Personification in Poetry. [Part II.]
1798On Personification in Poetry. [Part III.]
1798On Personification in Poetry. [Part IV.]
1798On Personification in Poetry. [Part V.]
1799On Personification in Poetry. [Part IX.]
1799On Personification in Poetry. [Part VI.]
1799On Personification in Poetry. [Part VII.]
1799On Personification in Poetry. [Part VIII.]
1799On Personification in Poetry. [Part X.]
1802Spenser; Account of his Life, and Criticism of his Works.
1804Letters to a young Lady [The Faerie Queene and Imitators of Spenser].

PUBLICATIONS:

Observations on the external use of preparations of lead. 1771.
Thoughts on hospitals. 1771.
Essays on song-writing. 1772.
Miscellaneous pieces in prose, by J. and A. Aikin. 1773.
Biographical memoirs of medicine in Great Britain. 1780.
A manual of materia medica. 1785.
Evenings at home: or the juvenile budget opened. With Anna Laetitia Barbauld. 6 vols, 1792-96.
General biography: or lives critical and historical. 10 vols, 1799-1815.
Biographical memoirs of medicine in Great Britain. 1780.
A sketch of the animal economy. 1781.
The calendar of nature; designed for the instruction and entertainment of young persons. 1785.
An address to the dissidents of England on their late defeat. 1790.
The spirit of the constitution and that of the Church of England compared. 1790.
Poems. 1791.
A view of the character and public services of the late John Howard. 1792.
Food for national penitence. 1793.
Letters from a father to a son. 1793.
A description ... of Manchester. 1795.
Monthly Museum. Editor, 1796-1807.
General biography. 1799-1815.
The arts of life. 1802.
The woodland companion. 1802.
Letters to a young lady on a course of English poetry. 1804.
Athenaeum, editor. 1807-09.
Vocal poetry, or, a select collection of English songs. 1810.
Annals of the reign of King George III. 2 vols, 1816.
Select works of the British poets, with biographical and critical prefaces. 1820.

PROFILE AND
ASSOCIATES:

English
Dissenter

Warrington Academy
Dissenting academy
Edinburgh University
Leyden
Doctor of Medicine

schoolmaster
physician
poet
essayist
editor
antiquary

The Monthly Review
Gentleman's Magazine
European Magazine
Analytical Review
The Monthly Magazine
New London Magazine
General Evening Post
Literary Magazine and British Review
Annual Register
Annual Review
The Reflector

Anna Laetitia Barbauld
Dr. Erasmus Darwin
William Godwin
James Montgomery
Thomas Pennant
Joseph Priestly
Samuel Rogers
William Roscoe
Robert Southey
William Taylor of Norwich
Joseph Cooper Walker

REFERENCE:

DNB; NCBEL.

Catalogue of five hundred Celebrated Authors (1788); "Account of Dr. Aikin" Gentleman's Magazine 67 (1797) 322; Bell's Fugitive Poetry (1789-97); David Rivers, Literary Memoirs of Living Authors (1798); "John Aikin" Weekly Magazine [Philadelphia] 4 (13 April 1799) 17-18 [from Rivers]; "John Aikin, Esq. M.D." Port Folio [Philadelphia] 4 (13 October 1804) 326; John Nichols, Literary Anecdotes (1812-15); Biographical Dictionary of Living Authors (1816); memoir in Gentleman's Magazine 93 (January 1823) 83-89; obituary in Monthly Magazine 54 (January 1823) 520-21; Arthur Aikin, "Memoir of Dr. Aikin" Monthly Repository of Theology and General Literature 18 (January 1823) 52-55; obituary in New Monthly Magazine NS 9 (February 1823) 87; "Memoir of John Aikin" Imperial Magazine 5 (February 1823) 106-11 [portrait]; Lucy Aikin, Memoir of John Aikin, with Selections of his Miscellaneous Pieces, 2 vols (1823) [portrait]; Robert Watt, Bibliotheca Britannica (1824); "Dr. Aikin" Monthly Magazine 58 (January 1825) 504-05; The Georgian Era: Memoirs of the most Eminent Persons (1832-34); Allibone, Critical Dictionary of English Literature (1882); Nangle, Index to Monthly Review (1934); Nangle, Index to Monthly Review (1955).

COMMENTARY RECORDS
for Dr. John Aikin:

1.	1790  Dr. J. Crane, "On Dr. Aikin's Vindication of John Howard" St. James's Chronicle (26 June 1790).
2.	1791  Dr. J. Crane, "On the Poems of J. Aikin, M.D." St. James's Chronicle (29 September 1791).
3.	1792  Pylades, "To Dr. Aiken, occasioned by seeing a Publication upon Public Worship, dedicated to the Doctor" Gentleman's Magazine 62 (April 1792) 365.
4.	1796  Thomas Green, 3 October 1796; Extracts from the Diary of a Lover of Literature (1810) 7-8.
5.	1797  George Dyer, in The Poet's Fate, a Poetical Dialogue (1797) 10-11 &n.
6.	1801  Gilbert Wakefield, "To John Aikin, M.D." The Monthly Magazine 11 (July 1801) 513-14.
7.	1804  H. Fletcher, "Written on a blank Leaf in Dr. Aikin's Letters to a Young Lady on a Course of English Poetry" Universal Magazine NS 2 (July 1804) 70-71.
8.	1804  Anonymous, "John Aikin, Esq. M.D." Port Folio [Philadelphia] 4 (13 October 1804) 326.
9.	1812  William Wordsworth, 13 May 1812; Remains of Henry Crabb Robinson (1932) 52.
10.	1820 ca.  Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1820 ca.; Table Talk (1884) 320.
11.	1822  Henry Crabb Robinson, 9 December 1822; Diary, Reminiscences, and Correspondence (1870; 1872) 1:389.
12.	1822  Anonymous, Review of Aikin, Select Works of the British Poets; Monthly Review NS 97 (March 1822) 328.
13.	1823  Lucy Aikin, in Memoir of John Aikin (1823) 1:249-50.
14.	1823  Anonymous, Review of Lucy Aikin, Memoir of John Aikin, M.D., in Literary Examiner (16 August 1823) 110-11.
15.	1827  William Goodhugh, in The English Gentleman's Library Manual (1827) 302-04.
16.	1830  Robert Southey to Samuel Egerton Brydges, 16 June 1830; in Samuel Egerton Brydges, Autobiography (1834) 2:274-75.
17.	1854  Leigh Hunt, in Selections from English Authors; Works (1854) 3:47-48.
18.	1856  Samuel Rogers, in Table Talk (1856) 81.

BIOGRAPHY RECORDS
for Dr. John Aikin:

1.	1788  Anonymous, in Catalogue of five hundred Celebrated Authors (1788).
2.	1798  David Rivers, in Literary Memoirs of Living Authors (1798) 1:9-10.
3.	1816  Anonymous, in Biographical Dictionary of Living Authors (1816) 4.
4.	1823  Arthur Aikin, Obituary in Gentleman's Magazine 93 (January 1823) 83-89.
5.	1834  G. G. Cunningham, in Memoirs of Illustrious Englishmen (1834-37) 8:239-41.

AUTHOR AS CRITIC:
(commentary records)

1.	1772  John Gay:   John Aikin, in "On Ballads and Pastoral Songs" Essays on Song-Writing (1772) 31-33.
2.	1772  Allan Ramsay:   John Aikin, in "On Ballads and Pastoral Songs" Essays on Song-Writing (1772) 33-34.
3.	1772  George Smith:   John Aikin, in "On Ballads and Pastoral Songs" Essays on Song-Writing (1772) 38-39.
4.	1783 ca.  Rev. Vicesimus Knox:   John Aikin to Anna Laetitia Barbauld, 1783 ca.; Lucy Aikin, Memoir of John Aikin (1823) 1:59.
5.	1790  Anna Laetitia Barbauld:   John Aikin, "Sonnet to Mrs. Barbauld, March 1790" Aikin, Poems (1791) 75.
6.	1796  William Amphlett:   John Aikin, Review of Amphlett, Triumphs of War; The Monthly Review NS 21 (November 1796) 338.
7.	1796  Joseph Cottle:   John Aikin, Review of Cottle, Poems; The Monthly Review NS 20 (August 1796) 470.
8.	1797  Rev. Samuel Bishop:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 4 (August 1797) 120.
9.	1797  Rev. William Mason:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 4 (August 1797) 120.
10.	1798  Amos Cottle:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 5 (Supplement, 1798) 506.
11.	1799  Eliza Day:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 7 (Supplement, 1799) 537.
12.	1799  Charles Lloyd:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 7 (Supplement, 1799) 536.
13.	1799  Thomas James Mathias:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 7 (Supplement, 1799) 535-36.
14.	1799  Rev. Josiah Relph:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 7 (Supplement, 1799) 537-38.
15.	1801  Sir James Bland Burges:   John Aikin?, in "Retrospect of Domestic Literature" The Monthly Magazine 11 (Supplement, 1801) 604.
16.	1806  Joseph Addison:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 43.
17.	1806  Dr. Mark Akenside:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 205-06.
18.	1806  Dr. John Armstrong:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 147-48.
19.	1806  James Beattie:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 279-80.
20.	1806  Samuel Butler:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 237-38.
21.	1806  William Collins:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 200-01.
22.	1806  William Congreve:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 252-53.
23.	1806  Abraham Cowley:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 234-35.
24.	1806  William Cowper:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 286-87.
25.	1806  John Dryden:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 20.
26.	1806  Rev. John Dyer:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 155-56.
27.	1806  John Gay:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 52.
28.	1806  Oliver Goldsmith:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 264-66.
29.	1806  Thomas Gray:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 185.
30.	1806  Samuel Johnson:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 273.
31.	1806  George Lyttelton:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 258.
32.	1806  John Milton:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 125-26.
33.	1806  Rev. Thomas Parnell:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 47-48.
34.	1806  John Philips:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 143.
35.	1806  Alexander Pope:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 85-86.
36.	1806  Matthew Prior:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 35.
37.	1806  Nicholas Rowe:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 254-55.
38.	1806  William Shenstone:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 226-27.
39.	1806  Tobias Smollett:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 207.
40.	1806  Rev. Jonathan Swift:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 64-65.
41.	1806  James Thomson:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 221-22.
42.	1806  Thomas Tickell:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 248-49.
43.	1806  Edmund Waller:   John Aikin, in Letters to a Young Lady (1806) 31.

AUTHOR AS CRITIC:
(biography records)

1.	1820  Joseph Addison:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 232.
2.	1820  Dr. Mark Akenside:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 630.
3.	1820  Dr. John Armstrong:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 693.
4.	1820  James Beattie:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 797.
5.	1820  Rev. Charles Churchill:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 524.
6.	1820  William Collins:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 502.
7.	1820  Abraham Cowley:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 5.
8.	1820  William Cowper:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 723.
9.	1820  John Dryden:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 148-49.
10.	1820  Rev. John Dyer:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 511.
11.	1820  John Gay:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 283-84.
12.	1820  Oliver Goldsmith:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 674.
13.	1820  Thomas Gray:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 652.
14.	1820  Samuel Johnson:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 685-86.
15.	1820  Ben Jonson:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 1.
16.	1820  George Lyttelton:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 666.
17.	1820  Rev. William Mason:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 720.
18.	1820  John Milton:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 15-17.
19.	1820  Rev. Thomas Parnell:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 221.
20.	1820  John Philips:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 208.
21.	1820  Ambrose Philips:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 500.
22.	1820  Alexander Pope:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 345-46.
23.	1820  Matthew Prior:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 239.
24.	1820  Nicholas Rowe:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 230.
25.	1820  William Shenstone:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 517.
26.	1820  Tobias Smollett:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 663.
27.	1820  William Somervile:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 328.
28.	1820  Rev. Jonathan Swift:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 389-90.
29.	1820  James Thomson:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 414-15.
30.	1820  Thomas Tickell:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 321.
31.	1820  Edmund Waller:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 142-43.
32.	1820  Rev. Joseph Warton:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 709.
33.	1820  Rev. Thomas Warton:   John Aikin, in Select Works of the British Poets (1820) 712.