William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, England. He was the second child of 5; his sister Dorothy, who he was very close to throughout his life, was born the year after him. He was sent away to school in 1778 after his mother died.  He attended St. John’s College at Cambridge University beginning in 1787; he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1791, Wordsworth went to France because he believed in the ideals of the French Revolution. While there he had a relationship with Annette Vallon and they had a daughter. Wordsworth returned to England but did support his daughter for the rest of his life. In 1802, Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson; they had 5 children, 3 of whom survived to adulthood.

William Wordsworth had his first poem published in 1787 in The European magazine. His first collection of poetry was An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches which was published in 1793. During this time, Wordsworth became close friends with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The two poets joined forces and produced Lyrical Ballads in 1798. One of Wordsworth’s better known collections of poems is Ode: Imitations of Immorality from Recollections of Early Childhood which includes the poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud . In 1843, William Wordsworth became the Poet Laureate for Great Britain, becoming  responsible for composing poems to celebrate state events and monarchs.

After a long and productive life, William Wordsworth died on April 23, 1850 of pleurisy.