Goldsmith, Oliver
Goldsmith, Oliver ( ?1730 – 74 ),the second son of an Anglo-Irish clergyman, born probably at Pallas, Co. Longford, or perhaps at Elphin, Roscommon. He spent much of his childhood at Lissoy, and is thought to have drawn on his memories of it when writing The Deserted Village . He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and graduated after some upheavals in 1750 ; he then presented himself for ordination, was rejected, and went to Edinburgh, where he studied medicine but took no degree. He studied in Leiden, and during 1755 – 6 wandered about France, Switzerland, and Italy, reaching London destitute in 1756 , where he supported himself with difficulty as a physician in Southwark and as an usher in Peckham; he may at this period have received a medical degree from Trinity, though this remains unclear. He applied for a medical post in India, but failed to obtain it; meanwhile he had embarked on a literary...
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