Dodd, William, 1729-1777

William Dodd (1729-1777) attended the University of Cambridge, and was ordained as a minister in 1752. He published a wide variety of works from 1747 onward, including poetry, a novel, theological writings, and his most successful work, The Beauties of Shakespeare (1752). In 1767, he founded Pimlico Chapel in London behind Buckingham House, in an effort to attract royal patronage. Dodd grew increasingly desperate for money to pay debts. On 1777 Feb. 1, he forged the name of a former pupil on a bond in an effort to obtain £4200, for which he was sentenced to death on May 16. Despite a vigorous public sympathy campaign, led in part by author Samuel Johnson, clemency was not granted and Dodd was executed on June 27.

From the guide to the Poems by the late unhappy and lamented William Dodd, LL.D., 1745-1796., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

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