Cory, William Johnson, originally William Johnson 1823-92
English academic, translator and poet

Born in Torrington, Devon, he was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow. As assistant master at Eton (1845-72), he wrote the words of the 'Eton Boat Song'. He inherited an estate and in 1872 adopted the name Cory, went to Madeira, married, and settled in Hampstead where he gave private lessons and spent his remaining years writing and translating. His 'Heraclitus' in Ionica (1858) - 'They told me, Heraclitus, they told me you were dead. They brought me bitter news to hear and bitter tears to shed - ', based on the epigram by Callimachus, ensured him a permanent place among English lyric poets. His Letters and Journals were published in 1897.

Bibliography: Faith Compton Mackenzie, William Cory (1950)