William Mickle

by George Dance William Mickle (1735-1788) was a Scottish poetry|Scottish poet]].

Life
He was the son of Alexander and Julian Meikle. His father was the minister of Langholm, Dumfriesshire. He was educated at the grammar school in Langholm, and high school in Edinburgh until 1750. His father bought a brewery, and William went to work there at 15. He inherited the business when his father died, but the business went bankrupt.

Mickle moved to London in 1763, and found employment as a corrector (proofreader) with the Clarendon Press.

He published his first poem, "The Concubine," in 1765. In 1775 he found fame for his translation of The Lusiads by Portuguese poet Luis de Camões. He visited Lisbon in 1779, and was feted and given a public reception by the King of Portugal.

Publications

 * Poetical Works. London: for C. Cooke, 1806.