born Aug. 9, 1593, Stafford, Staffordshire, Eng.
died Dec. 15, 1683, Winchester, Hampshire
English biographer and author.
A prosperous ironmonger with only a few years of schooling, he read widely, developed scholarly tastes, and associated with men of learning. A friend and fishing companion of John Donne , he contributed "An Elegie" to the posthumous publication of Donne's poetry (1633) and wrote biographies of Donne (1640), George Herbert (1670), and others. His classic The Compleat Angler (1653), a pastoral discourse on the joys and stratagems of fishing, is one of the most frequently reprinted works in English literature, most often in a revision (1676) with additions by Charles Cotton (1630–87).