Praed, Winthrop Mackworth (1802-1839)

English poet. Though he wrote a considerable amount of serious poetry, he is remembered chiefly as the supreme master of society verse, elegant and witty trifles depicting men and women of the fashionable world. Well-known examples are ‘Good-night to the Season’, ‘Our Ball’, and ‘The Vicar’.

He was born in London and educated at Eton, where he edited a school magazine, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he twice won the chancellor's medal for English verse. In 1829 he was called to the Bar, and shortly afterwards became a member of Parliament. He lost his seat with the passing of the Reform Act, but was subsequently MP for Yarmouth and then Aylesbury, and in 1835 was secretary to the Board of Control in Peel's administration.