Isaac Gompertz (1774 – 25 February 1856) was an early English Jewish poet, who was compared by his contemporaries, including Alexander Jamieson,[1] to Dryden, Pope, Addison and Gray.[2] He was known for the poems "The Modern Antique", "Time, or Light and Shade" and "Devon";[3] his works received positive attention from Leigh Hunt[4] and were well received by the contemporary press.[5]

Biography

Gompertz was born in Middlesex in 1774. He was the brother of the early animal rights activist Lewis Gompertz and the mathematician and actuary Benjamin Gompertz.[6] Gompertz composed epitaphs for his brother Barent[7] and his brother Lewis' wife.[8] He married Charlotte Florence Wattier (born 1799) on 3 December 1818; they had 3 children.[9]

Gompertz died at his home in on Ebury Street, London, on 25 February 1856, at the age of 83.[10] He was buried in Exeter Jewish Cemetery.[9]

Publications

References

  1. ^ Rubinstein, William D.; Jolles, Michael; Rubinstein, Hilary L., eds. (2011). "Gompertz Family". The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-4039-3910-4.
  2. ^ Emden, Paul Herman (1944). Jews of Britain: A Series of Biographies. London: S. Low, Marston & Company, Limited. p. 171.
  3. ^ The Assurance Magazine, and Journal of the Institute of Actuaries. Vol. 13. London: C. & E. Layton. 1867. p. 2.
  4. ^ The Menorah: A Monthly Magazine for the Jewish Home. Vol. 7. Menorah Publishing Company. 1889. p. 211.
  5. ^ Kearley, William Henry (1896). "Isaac Gompertz". West-Country Poets: Their Lives and Works. London: Elliot Stock. p. 210.
  6. ^ "GOMPERTZ, ISAAC". JewishEncyclopedia. 1906. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  7. ^ Susser, Bernard (2003). The Jews of South-West England (Thesis).
  8. ^ Gompertz, Lewis (1852). "Epitaph, by Isaac Gompertz, Esq., on the lamented wife of the author of the work". Fragments in Defence of Animals, and Essays on Morals, Soul, and Future State. London: W. Horsell. p. 292.
  9. ^ a b "GOMPERTZ Isaac". CemeteryScribes. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Deaths". The Morning Post. 29 February 1856. p. 8.

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