On 27 August 1748 James Thomson, the Scottish poet, died.
Thomson's most famous works include the anthem, Rule Britannia, written as part of the masque, Alfred, composed by Thomas Arne, and The Seasons, the first British anthology on nature. Thomson has been cited as an influence on the Romantic poets who followed him, through his interest in the elements, Classical themes and his notions of mankind's place within the natural world.
