| Birth: | Mar. 31, 1809 | | Death: | Jun. 14, 1883 | 
Edward FitzGerald was born at the White House, between Woodbridge and Bredfield, in Suffolk, England. His parents were Irish. FitzGerald was his mother's name which his father, John Purcell, assumed in 1818 on the death of his wife's father. Edward, who was the seventh of eight children, was educated at King Edward VI's School in Bury St. Edmunds and at Trinity College in Cambridge. In 1856, he married Lucy Barton, the daughter of Bernard Barton but the marriage was not a success and the pair soon separated. In the same year, he began his translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the Persian poet. This was published in 1859 but was ignored for two years, until Rosetti, Swinburne and others recognised its merits. FitzGerald was not acknowledged as the translator until 1875. He died in his sleep at Merton in Norfolk, whilst on a visit to the Revd. George Crabbe, the grandson of the poet of the same name. His family are buried next to him, in a mausoleum. The inscription on the North side of his grave, "It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves", is taken from the third verse of the Hundredth Psalm. Ten years after his death, the rose tree was planted at the head of his grave, picked from the grave at Naishapur and raised at Kew Gardens. It is said that the then Vicar of Boulge objected to the name of Omar, "a heathen poet and philosopher", being mentioned on the plaque. (bio by: Iain MacFarlaine)
Search Amazon for Edward FitzGerald | | | Burial:
St Michael Churchyard
Boulge
Suffolk, England |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Iain MacFarlaine
Record added: Oct 06, 2002
Find A Grave Memorial# 6826127 |
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