Walter Davison

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

Walter Davison
Born	17 December 1581 London, UK
Died	1608 (aged 27)
Occupation	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 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

1. "Davison, Walter (DVY595W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
2. 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.