John Taylor Esq.

John Taylor, grandson of John Taylor, oculist to the king, was educated at a school at Ponder's End, Middlesex. He entered the family profession, being appointed with his brother oculist to George III. He wrote drama criticism for the Morning Post, in 1787 succeeding William Jackson as editor. Taylor afterwards purchased the True Briton, and in 1813 became proprietor of The Sun, a Tory paper edited by William Jerdan, with whom he quarreled. Taylor's memoirs were posthumously published in 1832.

TEXT RECORDS:

1802Elegy. A Parody.
1803Elegy. Written on a Country Hill-side.
1816"The Talents;" or, The Old Shoes. A Parody on "The Passions."
1819Invocation to Erin.
1827Love, to be introduced in Collins's Ode on the Passions.
1827Sonnet. To the Nightingale.

PUBLICATIONS:

Verses on various occasions. 1795.
Frank Hayman: a tale. 1798.
Literary relics of the late Joseph Richardson, esq. [Taylor, ed.]. 1807.
The Caledonian comet. 1810.
Poems on several occasions. 1811.
The Norwich fox dinner, an ode. 1819.
Poems on various subjects. 1827.
Monsieur Tonson. 1830.
Records of my Life. 2 vols, 1832.
Poems and translations: including the first four books of Ovid's Fasti. 1839.

PROFILE AND
ASSOCIATES:

English
Anglican

grammar school

journalist
poet
editor
translator

The Monthly Mirror
The Diary, or Woodfall's Register
The Morning Post
True Briton
The Sun
Gentleman's Magazine

William Boscawen
James Boswell
Sir James Bland Burges
Lord Byron
Hugh Campbell
Alexander Chalmers
George Chalmers
George Colman the Younger
William Combe
William Cook
William Thomas Fitzgerald
Isaac D'Israeli
William Gifford
William Jerdan
Edward Jerningham
Edmond Malone
Thomas James Mathias
Rev. Thomas Maurice
Robert Merry
John Nichols
Samuel Jackson Pratt
Henry James Pye
Mary Robinson
William Smith of Covent Garden
Richard Tickell
Francis Godolphin Waldron
Alaric Alexander Watts
Richard Westall
Dr. John Wolcot
John Williams

REFERENCE:

DNB; NCBEL.

Biographical Dictionary of Living Authors (1816); Anonymous, Obituary in Gentleman's Magazine 102 (July 1832) 89-90; John Taylor, Records of my Life (1832); William Prideaux Courtney, "John Taylor of the Sun" in Eight Friends of the Great (1910).

COMMENTARY RECORDS
for John Taylor Esq.:

1.	1788  Anonymous, "Extempore Lines. To Mr. Taylor, of Hatton Garden, Author of many ingenious Pieces" Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser (19 December 1788).
2.	1795 ca.  Mary Robinson, "To John Taylor, Esq." 1795 ca.; Robinson, Poetical Works (1806) 3:236-37.
3.	1807  Edward Jerningham, "To John Taylor, Esq." John Taylor, Records of my Life (1832) 1:167.
4.	1815 ca.  George Colman the younger, "Impromptu" 1815 ca.; Gentleman's Magazine 102 (December 1832) 546.
5.	1815  Lord Byron to John Taylor, 23 July 1815; Letters and Journals, ed. Rowland E. Prothero (1898-1901) 3:213-14.
6.	1819  John Wolcot, "Invitation" 1819; Taylor, Records of my Life (1832) 2:235.
7.	1826  Hugh Campbell, "Lines to the Friends of Genius, Worth, and Industry on reading ... that John Taylor ... was driven by undeserved misfortunes to publish his Works by Subscription" Morning Post (25 October 1826).
8.	1831  Thomas Campbell, 20 February 1831; Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell, ed. Beattie (1849) 3:108.
9.	1852  William Jerdan, In Autobiography of William Jerdan (1852-53) 2:70-75.
10.	1899  Rowland E. Prothero, in Byron, Letters and Journals, ed. Rowland E. Prothero (1898-1901) 3:213-14n.

BIOGRAPHY RECORDS
for John Taylor Esq.:

1.	1816  Anonymous, in Biographical Dictionary of Living Authors (1816) 341.
2.	1832  Anonymous, Obituary in Gentleman's Magazine 102 (July 1832) 89-90.
3.	1842  C. H. Timperley, in Encyclopaedia of Literary and Typographical Anecdote (1842) 2:921-22.

AUTHOR AS CRITIC:
(commentary records)

1.	1792 ca.  Edward Jerningham:   John Taylor Esq., "To Mr. Jerningham, on his Epistle from Abelard to Heloise" 1792 ca.; Taylor, Poems on Various Subjects (1827) 1:200.
2.	1793  Mary Robinson:   John Taylor Esq., "To Mary Robinson, on her Monody to the Memory of the Queen of France" 1793; Taylor, Poems on Various Subjects (1827) 1:202.
3.	1798  William Sotheby:   John Taylor Esq., "To William Sotheby, Esq. on his Translation of Oberon" 1798; Taylor Poems on Various Subjects (1827) 2:256-57.
4.	1800  George Hardinge:   John Taylor Esq., "To George Hardinge, on being desired to read his Pamphlet entitled The Essence of Malone" 1800; Taylor, Poems on Various Subjects (1827) 1:266-67.
5.	1807  William Hayley:   John Taylor Esq., "To William Hayley, Esq. on his Poem, entitled The Triumphs of Temper" The Sun (3 October 1807).
6.	1807  Charlotte Smith:   John Taylor Esq., "Lines, on seeing the Beautiful 'Ode to the Poppy' attributed, in a Morning Paper, to a Mr. O'Neale" The Sun (17 July 1807).
7.	1810  Alexander Chalmers:   John Taylor Esq., "On the Collection of British Poems, by Alexander Chalmers" 1810; Poems on Various Subjects (1827) 2:81-82.
8.	1811  Capel Lofft:   John Taylor Esq., "Sonnet, respectfully inscribed to Capel Lofft, Esq." The Monthly Magazine 31 (July 1811) 553.
9.	1811  Sir Walter Scott:   John Taylor Esq., "Sonnet to Walter Scott, Esq. on his Poem of The Vision of Don Roderick" The Sun (20 December 1811).
10.	1813  Mary Russell Mitford:   John Taylor Esq., "To Miss Mitford, on her Poems on the Female Character" The Sun (5 January 1813).
11.	1813  Horace Smith:   John Taylor Esq., "On the new Work by the Authors of the New Theatrum Poetarum" The Sun (1 March 1813).
12.	1814  Thomas James Mathias:   John Taylor Esq., "To Thomas James Mathias, Esq. on his Life of Gray" 1814; Poems on Various Subjects (1827) 1:300.
13.	1814  Edward Thurlow:   John Taylor Esq., "Sonnet respectfully inscribed to Lord Thurlow" Gentleman's Magazine 84 (January 1814) 64.
14.	1815  Lord Byron:   John Taylor Esq., "To the Right Honourable Lord Byron" The Sun (26 October 1815).
15.	1815  Edmund Lewis Swift:   John Taylor Esq., "To Edmund Lewis Swift, Esq. of the Regalia Office, Tower, of his Poems of Waterloo, &c. &c." The Sun (11 November 1815).
16.	1816  William Gifford:   John Taylor Esq., "To William Gifford, Esq. on his Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson" The Sun (7 August 1816).
17.	1817  George Chalmers:   John Taylor Esq., "To George Chalmers, Esq. the Possessor of a Table and Wine-Glass which belonged to Thomson the Poet" Morning Post (24 March 1817).
18.	1817  Abraham Cowley:   John Taylor Esq., "On Cowley's Monument in Westminster Abbey" The Sun (13 August 1817).
19.	1817  John Dryden:   John Taylor Esq., "Modern Poems" The Sun (22 October 1817).
20.	1817  William Smith of Covent Garden:   John Taylor Esq., "To William Smith, Esq." The Sun (11 October 1817).
21.	1818  Anna Maria Porter:   John Taylor Esq., "Impromptu, on receiving an Invitation 'to meet Two Spinsters,' Miss Porter and Miss M. Porter" The Sun (16 May 1818).
22.	1819  William Cook:   John Taylor Esq., "On the Poem entitled 'Conversation,' written by William Cooke, Esq." The Sun (9 October 1819).
23.	1819  William Smith of Covent Garden:   John Taylor Esq., "On William Smith, Esq. who lately died, in his 89th Year, at Bury St. Edmund's" The Sun (2 October 1819).
24.	1819  Dr. John Wolcot:   John Taylor Esq., "Peter Pindar's Annuity. — An Imitation" Morning Post (13 February 1819).
25.	1820  William Gifford:   John Taylor Esq., "To William Gifford, Esq." The Sun (24 July 1820).
26.	1820 ca.  John Nichols:   John Taylor Esq., "To Sylvanus Urban, Gent." 1820 ca.; Gentleman's Magazine 97 (February 1827) 162.
27.	1821  George Colman the Younger:   John Taylor Esq., "On the Report that George Colman, Esq. had received the Honour of Knighthood at the Coronation" The Sun (23 July 1821).
28.	1822  Samuel Rogers:   John Taylor Esq., "To Samuel Rogers, Esq." The Sun (28 December 1822).
29.	1823  William Gifford:   John Taylor Esq., "Sonnet, to William Gifford, Esq." The Sun (29 September 1823).
30.	1824  Lord Byron:   John Taylor Esq., "The Last Words of Lord Byron" The Sun (14 August 1824).
31.	1824  Richard Westall:   John Taylor Esq., "Lines on the Portrait of the late Lord Byron, painted by Richard Westall, Esq. R.A." The Sun (5 June 1824).
32.	1824  Dr. John Wolcot:   John Taylor Esq., "The Late Dr. Wolcot's Character of Dryden and Pope, versified" The Sun (23 December 1824.
33.	1825  Samuel Johnson:   John Taylor Esq., "Prologue, occasioned by the Report that Dr. Johnson's Tragedy of Irene was to be revived at Covent Garden Theatre" Morning Post (12 March 1825).
34.	1826  John Nichols:   John Taylor Esq., "Epitaph on the late J. Nichols, Esq." Gentleman's Magazine 96 (December 1826) 504.
35.	1827  Alexander Chalmers:   John Taylor Esq., "To Alexander Chalmers, F.S.A" Gentleman's Magazine 97 (February 1827) 162.
36.	1827  William Thomas Fitzgerald:   John Taylor Esq., "To W. T. Fitzgerald, Esq. in Return for the Present of an Opera-Glass" Poems on Various Subjects (1827) 1:300.
37.	1827  William Gifford:   John Taylor Esq., "To the Memory of the Late William Gifford, Esq." Gentleman's Magazine 97 (January 1827) 63.
38.	1827  William Meyler:   John Taylor Esq., "A Tribute to the Memory of the late Mr. William Meyler, of Bath" Gentleman's Magazine 97 (July 1827) 73.
39.	1830  William Thomas Fitzgerald:   John Taylor Esq., "To the Memory of the late William Thomas Fitzgerald" Gentleman's Magazine 100 (May 1830) 542.
40.	1830  William Sotheby:   John Taylor Esq., "On the Meeting of Hector and Andromache, by William Sotheby, Esq." Gentleman's Magazine 100 (June 1830) 547.
41.	1830  William Sotheby:   John Taylor Esq., "To William Sotheby, Esq. on his Poem entitled Italy" Morning Post (14 May 1830).
42.	1832  Rev. Thomas Birch:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:211.
43.	1832  William Boscawen:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:388-89.
44.	1832  Rev. John Brown:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:85.
45.	1832  Sir James Bland Burges:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:163.
46.	1832  Edmund Burke:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:188-96.
47.	1832  Lord Byron:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:349-56.
48.	1832  Richard Owen Cambridge:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:308-12.
49.	1832  George Chalmers:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:188-90, 334-38.
50.	1832  Alexander Chalmers:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:338-40.
51.	1832  George Colman the Younger:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:380-82.
52.	1832  William Cook:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:365-67.
53.	1832  Richard Cumberland:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:161-64.
54.	1832  Sir William Davenant:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:152-58.
55.	1832  Thomas Davies:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:382-83, 2:41-43, 46-48.
56.	1832  Rev. William Dodd:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:250-53 &n.
57.	1832  William Thomas Fitzgerald:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:389-90, 2:396-98.
58.	1832  William Gifford:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:279-81, 374-78.
59.	1832  Oliver Goldsmith:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:107-09.
60.	1832  William Gerard Hamilton:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:190-92.
61.	1832  William Henry Ireland:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:243-47.
62.	1832  William Jackson of Exeter:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:346-48.
63.	1832  Edward Jerningham:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:160-73.
64.	1832  Samuel Johnson:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:231-35.
65.	1832  George Lyttelton:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:344.
66.	1832  Thomas James Mathias:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:166, 384-86.
67.	1832  Rev. Thomas Maurice:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:228-30.
68.	1832  Sir Joseph Mawbey:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:188.
69.	1832  Moses Mendez:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:36-38 &n.
70.	1832  Robert Merry:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:270-78.
71.	1832  Elizabeth Montagu:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:92-93.
72.	1832  Rev. Thomas Morell:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:334-35.
73.	1832  William Oldys:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:25-30.
74.	1832  Amelia Opie:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:303-04.
75.	1832  Samuel Jackson Pratt:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:38-47.
76.	1832  Henry James Pye:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:321-22, 390-92.
77.	1832  William Smith of Covent Garden:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:59-71.
78.	1832  George Steevens:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:43-46.
79.	1832  James Thomson:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:185-88.
80.	1832  Richard Tickell:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:140-45.
81.	1832  Francis Godolphin Waldron:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:86-87.
82.	1832  Horace Walpole:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:81-82.
83.	1832  Sir Charles Hanbury Williams:   John Taylor Esq., note in Records of my Life (1832) 1:37n.
84.	1832  John Williams:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 1:276-81.
85.	1832  Dr. John Wolcot:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:228-44.
86.	1832  William Wordsworth:   John Taylor Esq., in Records of my Life (1832) 2:287-88.