John Milton Fact Sheet: Who was John Milton? The following short biography and fact sheet provides interesting facts about the life, times and history of John Milton.

John Milton Fact File: Lifespan: 1608 - 1674 *** Full Name: John Milton *** Occupation: English Poet *** Date of Birth: John Milton was born on December 9th 1608 *** Place of Birth: John Milton was born in Bread Street, London, England *** Family background: His father was John Milton and his mother was Sarah Jeffrey. His father was a composer who moved to London after his father, a devout Catholic, disinherited him for become a Protestant. Once he reached London he met and married Sarah and made a career as a scrivener that would give him financial security. Of the six children the couple had together, three survived to adulthood. His father was a composer of notable skill and gave his children a lifelong musical appreciation *** Early life and childhood: He grew up with his family in London *** Education: John Milton received private tuition thanks to his father's lucrative career and he would also attend Christ’s College in Cambridge ***.

John Milton Fact 1: John Milton was born on December 9th 1608 and during the 17th century period in history when during this period there were mass changes that took place in philosophy as well as science. It was also a time when medieval alchemy would become the chemistry of the future and there were many innovations.

John Milton Fact 2: Although he completed his degree and graduated with a B.A. he had planned on becoming an Anglican priest so he continued with his education and obtained his Master of Arts degree in July 1632.

John Milton Fact 3: While attending Cambridge he befriend Edward King, who it was said he wrote Lycidas and also Roger Williams, an Anglo-American theologian and dissident.

John Milton Fact 4: While Milton learned how to speak Dutch from Williams, in turn he taught Williams Hebrew.

John Milton Fact 5: Whilst attending Cambridge he produced several of his early poems that became well known including On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.

John Milton Fact 6: Having completed his university education Milton returned to live with his father in Horton, Berkshire and then undertook a six year period of self teaching. Couple with these private studies he also learned Greek and Latin, French and Spanish, Italian and Hebrew.

John Milton Fact 7: Throughout this period he continued to write poetry including Arcades and Comus which were commissioned for masques.

John Milton Fact 8: By 1638 he began a tour of France of Italy which lasted from May until August 1639. His travelling also constituted another means of learning religious and artistic traditions as well as Roman Catholicism.

John Milton Fact 9: When he did finally return to England he found his country in the midst of a Civil War.

John Milton Fact 10: In 1642 he made a visit to Forest Hill in Oxfordshire and would come back with Mary Powell, his sixteen year old wife although she stayed not long with her new husband before the war and the thirty five year old Milton drove her to return to her beloved home.

John Milton Fact 11: He continued his writing and would be honor by being given the position of Secretary for Foreign Tongues by the Council of State. This position required Milton to write the English Republic’s correspondence to foreign climes in Latin and to serve as a sensor as well as also producing their propaganda material.

John Milton Fact 12: Even after the death of Cromwell and the country returned to feuding political and military groups, Milton obstinately clung to his beliefs upon which he had originally written for the Commonwealth.

John Milton Fact 13: A Treatise of Civil Power was published in 1659 a piece of writing that attacked the idea of a state ruled church.

John Milton Fact 14: Post Restoration Milton was understandingly fearing for his life and went into hiding. A warrant for his arrest had been issued and his writings burned. A general pardon would be issued and he came out of hiding but nevertheless he was still arrested and questioned and imprisoned for a short time before some of his influential friends came to his aid.

John Milton Fact 15: He lived quietly thereafter in London until he retired to his cottage in Chalfont St Giles. During this period of his life he wrote mainly textbooks, the Art of Logic and a History of Britain.

John Milton Fact 16: John Milton died on November 8th 1674 of kidney failure. His body laid to rest in the church of St Giles Cripplegate, Fore Street in London.

Influence & Legacy: It would take some time before his work surfaced under his true name. Much of what Milton wrote was during the Civil War and was obviously contentious depending on which view point you held. One of his most famous writings, Paradise Lost would appear in 1667.