Poet Laureate. He was born in Walmer, Kent and was educated at Eton and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He went on to study medicine at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital which he later practised. In 1882 he abandoned medical practice to devote himself to writing.  Two years later, on September 3, 1884, he married Monica Waterhouse. They had three children, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Edward. His published work consists of poems, plays, and anthologies, including The Spirit of Man (1916). He also wrote much prose including essays on Milton, Keats, and Shakespeare. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1913 and was one of the founders of the Society for Pure English. His earlier shorter poems contain many beautiful descriptions of nature and his major philosophical work, The Testament of Beauty, was published in the year preceding his death. He also befriended one of the greatest Victorian poets,  Gerard Manley Hopkins, and after his death, edited and published his collected poems in 1918. (bio by: julia&keld)  Family links:  Spouse:  Mary Monica Waterhouse Bridges (1863 – 1949)* *Calculated relationship