Author: Downman, Hugh
Biography:
Downman, Hugh (1740-1809: ODNB)
Physican and poet, he was born to Hugh Downman and Anne (Richards) Downman at Newton St Cyrus, near Exeter, Devon. Educated at the Exeter grammar school and Balliol College, Oxford, he was ordained in 1762 but then moved to Edinburgh to study medicine. There he boarded with Thomas Blacklock (q.v.) who encouraged him in writing poetry. In 1769 he moved to London, gained his MA from Cambridge, and moved to Exeter where he married Frances Andrew, daughter of an Exeter physician. Although his dramatic tragedies were not very successful in performance, his long poem, Infancy, made his name. He was a founding member of an Exeter literary society. Downman suffered ill-health throughout adulthood. He died at Exeter. (ODNB 25 Oct 2018; ancestry.co.uk 25 Oct 2018)
Other Names:
- H. Downman