William Coxe, an English historian and biographer, born in London in 1747, died at Bem-erton in 1828. He was elected a fellow of King's college, Cambridge, in 1768, and in 1771 was appointed to the curacy of Denham. Shortly after this he commenced a series of extended visits to the continent as private tutor to young noblemen, which, with occasional intervals for literary or professional labor, embraced a period of more than 20 years. The result of his observation and researches was given to the world in a number of books of travel, and of history and biography. He published between 1779 and 1789 "Travels into Poland, Russia, and Denmark " (5 vols.), " Travels in Switzerland " (3 vols.), and some miscellaneous works on Russian discoveries, on hospitals in northern Europe, and other subjects. In 1798 appeared his "Memoirs of the Life and Administration of Sir Robert Walpole" (2 vols.), accompanied by many valuable state papers, of which Pitt said that it gave him his first correct notion of the character of Sir Robert. His "History of the House of Austria" (3 vols., 1807) is a standard authority.

This was followed by the "History of the Kings of Spain of the House of Bourbon" (3 vols., 1813), "Memoirs of John, Duke of Marlborough" (3 vols., 1817-'19), "Memoirs of the Administration of the Right Hon. Henry Pelham " (2 vols., 1829), and a variety of minor publications. He was appointed archdeacon of Wilts in 1805, and during the last seven or eight years of his life was afflicted with total blindness.