William Lauder (forger) facts for kids

William Lauder (born around 1680, died 1771) was a Scottish writer. He is mostly known for claiming that a famous poem, Paradise Lost by John Milton, was copied from other writers.

Lauder's father, also named William Lauder, was a respected doctor and one of the first members of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. His grandfather was Sir John Lauder, 1st Baronet.

Early Life and Education

When William Lauder was a boy, he had an accident while playing golf. A golf ball hit his knee, and sadly, he lost one of his legs. Despite this, he went on to study at the University of Edinburgh. He was a very talented student and graduated in 1695.

After university, Lauder wanted to become a professor of humanities there. He had been teaching in that role since 1734 because the previous professor was ill. However, he did not get the permanent job. He also tried to become the keeper of the university library, but that didn't work out either.

His Writings and Teaching Career

In 1739, Lauder published a collection of religious poems. These poems were written by him and other writers, and many of them were based on stories from the Bible. This collection was called Poetarum Scotorum Musae Sacrae and is still known today as an important work of Scottish literature.

Lauder continued to look for teaching jobs. In 1739, he almost got a job at the Royal High School of Edinburgh. Then, in 1742, he became a junior teacher at Dundee Grammar School. He stayed there until 1745, when a big event called the Jacobite rising of 1745 happened. After that, he moved to London.

The Milton Controversy

In 1747, William Lauder wrote an article for a magazine called Gentleman's Magazine. In this article, he made a big claim: he said that John Milton's famous poem, Paradise Lost, was mostly copied from other writers. He suggested that Milton had taken ideas from poems like Adamus Exul by Hugo Grotius, Sarcotis by Jacob Masen, and Poemata Sacra by Andrew Ramsay.

Lauder wrote more articles and even a book in 1753 to explain his ideas. He claimed that Milton had copied from almost a hundred different authors!

What Happened Next

Lauder's claims were popular for a short time. However, other smart people who had also studied Milton's work started to investigate. They found that Lauder had not only twisted many of the quotes he used, but he had also added parts from a Latin version of Paradise Lost itself! This meant he was trying to make it look like Milton had copied from a Latin poem, when really, Lauder had put parts of Milton's own work into the "evidence."

A bishop named John Douglas showed everyone what Lauder had done. Because of this, Lauder had to write a full confession. His former friend, Samuel Johnson, even helped him write it.

After this, Lauder tried to clear his name, but it was very difficult. He decided to move to Barbados, an island far away. There, he bought a hotel and also taught in a school. He lived in Barbados until he passed away in 1771.