born March 31, 1809, Bredfield, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, Eng.
died June 14, 1883, Merton, Norfolk
British writer.
After graduating from Cambridge University, he lived chiefly in seclusion. He is best known for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (1859), a free adaptation from Omar Khayyam 's verses that is itself a classic of English literature. Many of its images, such as "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou" and "The moving finger writes, and, having writ, moves on" have passed into common currency. He also freely translated Six Dramas of Calderón (1853).