Joseph Blanco White, an English author, born in Seville, Spain, July 11, 1775, died in Liverpool, May 20, 1841. His grandfather, an Irishman, settled in Seville, became a successful merchant, and was ennobled; his father married a wealthy lady of rank. Blanco at the age of 12 was sent to college to be educated for the Roman Catholic priesthood. He was ordained a priest in 1799, but soon conceived a dislike for the profession, and in 1810 went to England, where he passed the remainder of his life. He conducted in London a Spanish periodical, entitled El Fspanol, from 1810 to 1814, when he received from the English government a life pension of £250. He then joined the church of England, and his religious opinions subsequently passed through various phases. He conducted from 1822 to 1825 a Spanish quarterly entitled Las Variedades, edited the " London Review " during its existence of six months (1829), and published " Letters from Spain " (1822); " Practical and Internal Evidence against Catholicism " (1825); " The Poor Man's Preservative against Popery " (1825); and " Second Travels of an Irish Gentleman in Search of a Religion" (2 vols., 1833), in answer to the work of Moore. His most celebrated production is a sonnet entitled "Night." His autobiography was edited by J. H. Thorn (3 vols., London, 1845).