Joseph Blanco White

Blanco White was born in Seville, Spain. He had Irish ancestry and was the son of the merchant Guillermo Blanco (alias White, an English viceconsul, who had established himself in Seville during the reign of Fernando VI) and María Gertrudis Crespo y Neve. Blanco White was educated for the Roman Catholic priesthood. In Seville, Spain, he had worked with Melchor de Jovellanos, an adviser to the king who advocated reform. After his ordination in 1800, White's religious doubts led him to leave Spain and go to England in 1810. There he ultimately entered the Anglican Church, having studied theology at Oxford and made the friendship of Thomas Arnold, John Henry Newman the Reverend E.T. Daniell and Richard Whately. He became tutor in Whately's family when Whately became the Archbishop of Dublin in 1831. While in this position White embraced Unitarian views. He found asylum amongst the Unitarians of Liverpool, and he died in the city on 20 May 1841.

His other principal writings include Doblado's Letters from Spain (1822) (under the pseudonym of "Don Leucado Doblado", and written in part at Holland House in London), Evidence against Catholicism (1825), Second Travels of an Irish Gentleman in Search of a Religion (2 vols., 1834) (a riposte to Thomas Moore's satirical commentary upon the conceits of the Second Reformation), and Observations on Heresy and Orthodoxy (1835). They all show literary ability and were extensively read in their day. He also translated Paley's Evidences and the Book of Common Prayer into Spanish. White is also remembered for his sonnet "Night and Death" ("Mysterious Night! when our first parent knew"), which was dedicated to Samuel Taylor Coleridge on its appearance in the Bijou for 1828 and has since found its way into several anthologies. Three versions are given in the Academy of 12 September 1891. Coleridge called "Night and Death" "the finest and most grandly conceived sonnet in our language"; Leigh Hunt wrote that it "stands supreme, perhaps, above all in any language." Leslie Stephen wrote that it is by this sonnet that he "will continue to be known when his other works, in spite of the real interest of his views, have been forgotten."

The authorities additionally record the headings José María Blanco Crespo and Jose Maria Blanco Crespo. His recorded languages were Spanish and English. His recorded confession was Catholic Church.

Joseph Blanco White is recorded as writer, journalist, catholic priest, theologian and poet.