Richard Furness was known as "The Poet of
Eyam" after the village in
Derbyshire,
England where he was born on 2 August 1791. His parents, Samuel and Margaret sent him to school, although he could already read fluently by the age of four. He initially got a job keeping accounts locally but then went as apprentice to a currier in
Chesterfield at the age of fourteen. He was able to extend his linguistic skills by learning French from prisoners of war. He learned mathematics and music and at the age of seventeen he was a Wesleyan preacher. ==References==