William Tasker (poet)
William Tasker (1740–1800) was an English clergyman, scholar and poet. He made translations of works of Pindar and Horace. His own poems celebrated the "genius of Britain", which to him was both artistic and military. He was also interested in science, including physiognomy. Life William Tasker was born in 1740 at Iddesleigh, Devon. He was the only son of William Tasker (1708–1772) and Jane Vickries (died 1795). His father was rector of Iddesleigh, Devonshire, from 6 July 1738. He was educated at Barnstaple, then attended Exeter College, Oxford, matriculating on 20 February 1758. He remained there as sojourner and obtained a B.A. on 2 February 1762. On 24 June 1764, he was ordained deacon, and next day was made curate of Monk-Okehampton, near Iddesleigh. He was ordained a priest on 12 July 1767. Tasker became rector of Iddesleigh on 6 November 1772, after his father died. Tasker was a friend of Dr. William Hunter, attended his lectures, and studied botany in the gardens at Kew. James Boswell describes a meeting between Tasker and Samuel Johnson on 16 March 1779, where Tasker asked for Johnson's opinion of his poems. Boswell wrote, "The bard was a lank, bony figure, with short black