William Wordsworth Biography: Wife, Height, Poems, Awards, Children, Age, Net Worth, Awards, Death

William Wordsworth was an English Romantic poet widely regarded as one of the central figures in launching the Romantic Age in English literature.

Alongside Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he co-authored Lyrical Ballads (1798), a groundbreaking collection that emphasized ordinary life, emotion, and nature over classical restraint.

Quick Facts

• Full Name: William Wordsworth
• Stage Name: William Wordsworth
• Born: April 7, 1770
• Date of death: April 23, 1850 (Aged: 80 years old)
• Birthplace: Cockermouth, Cumberland, United Kingdom
• Nationality: British
• Occupation: Poet
• Height: Unknown
• Parents: John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson Wordsworth
• Siblings: Richard Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth, John Wordsworth, Christopher Wordsworth
• Spouse: Mary Hutchinson (m. 1802–1850)
• Girlfriends: Annette Vallon (ex)
• Children: Dora Wordsworth, Thomas Wordsworth, John Wordsworth, Catherine Wordsworth, Willy Wordsworth, and Caroline Wordsworth
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: Unknown

Early Life and Education

William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumberland, to John Wordsworth, a lawyer and estate agent, and Ann Cookson Wordsworth. He was the second of five children.

His mother died when he was eight, and his father passed away when he was thirteen, leaving the siblings in the care of relatives and guardians.

Wordsworth attended Hawkshead Grammar School, where he developed a deep love for nature and began writing poetry, followed by studies at St John’s College, Cambridge, starting in 1787, though he did not complete a traditional degree path and left without honors.

His ethnicity was English, and his religion was Anglican, though his views evolved toward a more personal spirituality influenced by nature.

Career

William Wordsworth began his literary career in his youth at Hawkshead Grammar School, composing verses inspired by the surrounding countryside.

After Cambridge, he traveled extensively in Europe, including a walking tour through the Alps in 1790 and time in revolutionary France, where he embraced democratic ideals and fathered a daughter out of wedlock.

His first published works appeared in 1793 with An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches.

A turning point came in 1795 when a legacy allowed him to settle with his sister Dorothy, leading to his collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Their joint Lyrical Ballads (1798), with Wordsworth’s famous preface in the 1800 edition advocating poetry in everyday language drawn from common life, marked the birth of Romanticism and brought him initial recognition.

Wordsworth’s most productive period followed, often called his “great decade” (1797–1807), during which he produced major poems such as Tintern Abbey, The Prelude (drafted extensively but published posthumously), Ode: Intimations of Immortality, and Resolution and Independence.

He settled in the Lake District, first at Dove Cottage in Grasmere, then Rydal Mount, where the natural surroundings fueled his work.

Financial stability came from a government position as Distributor of Stamps and repayment of family debts, allowing focus on writing.

His style shifted toward more conservative views later, but his emphasis on emotion, imagination, and nature profoundly influenced subsequent poets.

William Wordsworth’s legacy endures as a founder of English Romantic poetry. Appointed Poet Laureate in 1843, he continued revising The Prelude and other works into old age.

His poetry, celebrating the sublime in everyday experiences and the restorative power of nature, shaped literary thought and inspired generations.

Buried in Grasmere, his home at Rydal Mount remains a site of pilgrimage, and his influence persists in environmental awareness and lyrical expression.

Social Media

William Wordsworth does not have social media accounts.

Personal Life

William Wordsworth married his longtime friend and childhood acquaintance, Mary Hutchinson, in 1802, and they enjoyed a stable and affectionate marriage until his death in 1850.

The couple had five children—Dora, John, Willy, Catherine, and Thomas—though Catherine and Thomas died young.

Wordsworth also had an illegitimate daughter, Caroline, from a relationship with Annette Vallon during his time in France; he supported her and visited her in 1802.

In later years, he became more politically conservative, and his final decade was marked by personal losses, including the death of his daughter Dora in 1847.

Major Works

• An Evening Walk (1793)
• Descriptive Sketches (1793)
• Lyrical Ballads (1798, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
• Poems, in Two Volumes (1807)
• The Excursion (1814)
• The Prelude (1850, posthumous)
• I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (1807)
• Ode: Intimations of Immortality (1807)
• Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey (1798)

Net Worth

William Wordsworth achieved financial security rather than vast wealth by the standards of his time.

At his death, his estate benefited from an inheritance repayment, a government sinecure as Distributor of Stamps providing £400 annually, and earnings from poetry publications and the Poet Laureate position.

Adjusted for inflation and context, this equates to comfortable middle-class prosperity, though no precise modern dollar net worth is documented.