Roscoe
WILLIAM, an English historian; born in Mt. Pleasant, Liverpool, ROSCOMMON England, March 8, 1753. His most important work, "The Life of Lorenzo de' Medici" (1796), did much toward stimulating English interest in Italian literature. His "The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast" (1807), a nursery classic in verse, attracted the attention of the king and queen, and was set to music for the young princesses. Among his many other works may be named: "A General View of the African Slave Trade" (1788); "The Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth" (1805); and "On the Origin and Vicissitudes of Literature, Science and Art" (1817). He died in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, June 30, 1831.