Which English poet declined the post of Poet Laureate in 1757?
William Whitehead (poet) William Whitehead (poet) William Whitehead (baptized 12 February 1715 – 14 April 1785) was an English poet and playwright. He became Poet Laureate in 1757 after Thomas Gray declined the position. The son of a baker, Whitehead was born in Cambridge and through the patronage of Henry Bromley, afterwards Baron Montfort, was admitted to Winchester College. He entered Clare College, Cambridge on a scholarship, and became a fellow in 1742. At Cambridge, Whitehead published an epistle "On the Danger of writing Verse" and some other poems, notably an heroic epistle, "Ann Boleyn to Henry the Eighth" (1743), and a didactic
Poet laureate created an office of Poet Laureate. The holders may be locally or nationally prominent. The office of Poet Laureate of Alabama was created for Samuel Minturn Peck in 1930. The post has been continuously filled since 1954 on a four-year renewable basis. Poets Laureate serve at the pleasure of the governor. The state of Arizona established a state Poet Laureate position in 2013, appointing Alberto Ríos as the inaugural Poet Laureate. The state of California established a state Poet Laureate under Governor Hiram Warren Johnson and appointed Ina Donna Coolbrith on June 30, 1915. Coolbrith was later acknowledged as the