John Milton (1608-1674), English poet. Milton was born in London and was educated at St.Paul's School and at Christ's College, Cambridge. After receiving his MA in 1632 Milton embarked on six years of private study, including travels in Europe where he met Grotius, Galileo and Tasso. On his return to England Milton wrote extensively on church issues such as the power of the bishops and the morality of divorce. The English Civil War gave Milton the chance to flourish in a republican setting, but the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 meant Milton had to spend some years in hiding from the authorities. It was in this period he started to write his classic blank verse epic poem, Paradise Lost, reflecting his despair at the failure of the revolution. This engraving by Houbraken comes from Birch's The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, published at London in 1747.