INTRODUCTION LIFE OF THOMAS GRAY 1716-1771 Birth December 26, 1716, at Cornhill, London. Parents Mother: Dorothy Autrobus, who at the time of her marriage kept a millinery shop in Cornhill. A loving and industrious woman. Father: Philip Gray, a wealthy money scrivener. A selfish, brutal, and negligent husband and father. The Gray Family Twelve children, of whom Thomas was the fifth. All died in infancy, except the poet. Education 1. Eton, under the care of his mother's brother, Mr. Autrobus, assistant to the Master of Eton. His companions and friends were Richard West, son of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and Horace Walpole, son of Sir Robert Walpole. 2. Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1734-1738. A pensioner. Studied classical literature, history, and modern languages. Did not study mathematics, and consequently took no degree. "Gray never was a boy. A pale, quiet, studious lad, careless of his health and enamoured of learning. Such was Gray in his school days and college life. He was a student and moralist, while other boys were cricket players and healthy |