Leigh Hunt

James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784–1859) was an English essayist, poet, critic, and editor closely associated with the Romantic period. Born in Southgate, Middlesex, he became a prominent journalist and co-founded *The Examiner* (1808), a liberal weekly noted for political commentary and literary criticism. Hunt was imprisoned in 1813–1815 for libelling the Prince Regent, continuing to write while confined. He championed emerging writers and maintained friendships with figures such as Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, and Lord Byron. His work ranged from poetry and theatre criticism to familiar essays, and he later edited *The Indicator* and *The Companion*.