Richard Monckton Milnes 1st Baron Houghton

Richard Monckton Milnes Houghton, 1st Baron , 1809-85, English author. Throughout much of his life he was an active member of Parliament. He was among the first to recognize the genius of Keats and in 1848 published his Life, Letters, and Literary Remains of John Keats. In addition he secured a pension for Tennyson and widely proclaimed Swinburne's genius. His poetical works include Poems of Many Years (1838) and Palm Leaves (1844).

Milnes, (Richard) Monckton (1809–85), later Baron Houghton, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became the friend of Tennyson, A. H. Hallam, and Thackeray, the first of many close literary friendships, which included Swinburne (whom he greatly assisted). In 1837 he became an MP and worked for various reforming causes, including the Copyright Act and the establishment of Mechanics' Institutes. He published his first volume of verse in 1838 and Palm Leaves in 1844, following these with works of biography, history, sociology, and Boswelliana. His major work was probably his Life and Letters of Keats (1848). He also did much to enhance the reputation of Blake, and in 1875 edited the works of T. L. Peacock. His own collected Poetical Works appeared in 1876. His large collection of erotic books included the first serious collection of de Sade.