George Crabbe (1754–1832)
Born 1754 CE, died 1832 CE.
George Crabbe ( KRAB; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. Aged 14, Crabbe was apprenticed to a farmer–apothecary at Wickhambrook, which he resented, spending more time as a farm-hand than training as an apothecary. He returned to work in his father's warehouse, and was then sent to John Page, a surgeon in Woodbridge, who employed him in filling prescriptions and compounding medicines. At the end of four years with Page, Crabbe returned to Aldeburgh. After serving as his assistant, he took over the apothecary of James Maskill. Crabbe read, studied, and learnt anatomy by dissecting dogs. A year later, he put his apothecary shop in the hands of a neighbouring surgeon and went to London to acquire medical knowledge, where he heard the lectures of the Scottish midwives Orme and Lowder, who followed Dr William Smellie's obstetrical tradition. In 1780, Crabbe abandoned his unsuccessful labours as an apothecary. He travelled to London to make a living as a poet.
Text from the Wikipedia article George_Crabbe, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.