Walter Davison

For those of a similar name, see Walter Davidson.

Walter Davison (17 December 1581, London - 1608?) was an English poet.

Life

Davison was the fourth and youngest son of William Davison, secretary of state, and his wife Catharine, daughter of Francis Spelman. He was a fellow-commoner of King's College, Cambridge, in 1596, but he left the university without taking a degree.^[1] About 1602 he was a soldier in the Low Countries. As he is not mentioned in his father's will, dated 18 December 1608, it is likely that he was then dead.

He was the author of eighteen of the poems in the first of edition of the Poetical Rhapsody, 1602, the poetical collection compiled by his brother Francis. At the time these poems were composed he was under eighteen years of age. "Seventeen of these comprise a competent but unmemorable sequence of amatory poems; the last is a translation from the Latin of a misogynistic epigram."^[2]

References

^ Davison, Walter in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
^ John Considine, ‘Davison, Walter (1581?–1602x8)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 31 Jan 2011

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Davison, Walter". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Persondata
Name	Davison, Walter
Alternative names
Short description	English poet
Date of birth	1581
Place of birth	London
Date of death	1600s
Place of death