Sterling

Sterling, JOHN (1806-44), poet and critic, was the son of Edward Sterling, a native of Waterford, who received the appellation of "The Thunderer" whilst editing the Times. He was born in Scotland, and, after completing his studies at Glasgow and Cambridge in 1827, became a journalist. For a time he edited the Athenaeum, and was a disciple and friend of Coleridge and Wordsworth, whose influence is discernible in his writings. He wrote frequently for periodicals, and proved himself an excellent thinker. He married in 1830, and from the state of his health was obliged to go to St. Vincent for a couple of years. In 1839 appeared his Poems, and in 1843 his trageely of Strafford. He became a curate under Archdeacon Hare, who afterwards collected his works, and died prematurely and much regretted. He was a close friend of Carlyle, who has immortalised him in his Life of Sterling (1851).