Empson, W. (William), 1791-1852

British barrister, literary reviewer, and editor William Empson was born in 1791.

After graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge, Empson was called to the bar in 1819. Empson practiced law until 1824, when he became a law professor at the East India Company College in Hertfordshire, England. In 1823 Empson began to write for the influential Edinburgh Review, prolifically covering such topics as history, biography, literature, law, and politics. In 1847 Empson was named editor and moved the base of operations of the Edinburgh Review to London. Empson worked as both editor of the review and professor of law at the East India College until his sudden death from influenza on December 10, 1852.

Shattock, Joanne. "Empson, William (1791–1852)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Available online at http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8800 (accessed January 27, 2009).

From the guide to the William Empson letters, 1851 or 1852, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)