John Conington (10 August 1825 – 23 October 1869) was an English classical scholar. In 1866 he published his best-known work, the translation of the Aeneid of Virgil into the octosyllabic metre of Walter Scott. He was Corpus Professor of Latin at the University of Oxford from 1854 until his death.
Early life and education
Conington was born on 10 August 1825 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, to the Revd Richard Conington and Jane ( Thirkhill). He is said to have learned the alphabet at fourteen months, and to have been reading well at three and a half.
In 1854, he had a personal and spiritual crisis. He began to attend chapel assiduously, only read religious books on Sundays, and to espouse conservative political views. He also became a follower of Edward Bouverie Pusey, one of the leaders of the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement.