GRAY, THOMAS (1716-1771).--Poet, was _b._ in London, the _s._ of a scrivener, who, though described as "a respectable citizen," was of so cruel and violent a temper that his wife had to separate from him. To his mother and her sister, who carried on a business, G. was indebted for his liberal education at Eton (where he became a friend of Horace Walpole), and Camb. After completing his Univ. course he accompanied Walpole to France and Italy, where he spent over two years, when a difference arising G. returned to England, and went back to Camb. to take his degree in law without, however, any intention of practising. He remained at Camb. for the rest of his life, passing his time in the study of the classics, natural science, and antiquities, and in visits to his friends, of whom Walpole was again one. It was in 1747 that his first poem, the _Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College_, appeared, and it was followed between 1750 and 1757 by his _Pindaric Odes_, including _The Progress of Poesy_, and _The Bard_, which were, however, somewhat coldly received. Nevertheless he had, on the death of Colley Cibber, the offer of the laureateship, which he declined; but in 1768 he accepted the Professorship of Modern History in his Univ., worth £400 a year. Having been drawn to the study of Icelandic and Celtic poetry he produced _The Fatal Sisters_, and _The Descent of Odin_, in which are apparent the first streaks of the dawn of the Romantic Revival. G.'s poems occupy little space, but what he wrote he brought to the highest perfection of which he was capable, and although there is a tendency on the part of some modern critics to depreciate him, it is probable that his place will always remain high among all but the first order of poets. Probably no poem has had a wider acceptance among all classes of readers than his _Elegy in a Country Churchyard_. In addition to his fame as a poet, he enjoys that of one of the greatest of English letter-writers, and of a really great scholar. He _d._ at Camb. after a short illness following upon a gradually declining state of health. _Life_ by Gosse (Men of Letters Series, 1882). GREELEY, HORACE (1811-1872).--Journalist and miscellaneous writer, was the _s._ of a small farmer in New Hampshire. His early life was passed first as a printer, and thereafter in editorial work. He started in 1841, and conducted until his death, the _New York Tribune_. He was long a leader in American politics, and in 1872 was an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency. His writings, which are chiefly political and economical, include _Essays on Political Economy_ (1870), and _Recollections of a Busy Life_ (1868).