Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline.
He is also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy and is one of the five Fireside Poets.
Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, then part of Massachusetts, and studies at Bowdoin College.
After spending time in Europe he becomes a professor at Bowdoin and, later, at Harvard College.
His first major poetry collections are Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841).
Longfellow retires from teaching in 1854 to focus on his writing, living the remainder of his life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a former headquarters of George Washington.
His first wife Mary Potter dies in 1835 after a miscarriage.
His second wife Frances Appleton dies in 1861 after sustaining burns when her dress catches fire.
After her death, Longfellow has difficulty writing poetry for a time and focuses on his translation.
He dies in 1882.
Longfellow writse predominantly lyric poems, known for their musicality and often presenting stories of mythology and legend.
He becomes the most popular American poet of his day and also has success overseas.
He has been criticized, however, for imitating European styles and writing specifically for the masses.
