Robert Seymour Bridges was an English poet and physician who served as Britain's Poet Laureate from 1913 until his death in 1930. Born into a well-connected family as the grandson of Sir Robert Affleck, 4th Baronet, Bridges initially pursued a career in medicine. He studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and worked as a casualty physician, later serving as a full physician to the Great Northern Central Hospital from 1876 until 1885. A lung disease forced his retirement from medicine in 1885, prompting him to focus fully on his literary pursuits.\n\nAlthough he began writing earlier, Bridges achieved widespread literary fame only late in life. His poetry is characterized by a deep Christian faith, and he became a prolific writer of well-known hymns. Beyond his own creative output, Bridges played a crucial historical role in English literature by promoting the work of his friend, the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, ensuring Hopkins achieved posthumous fame. During the First World War, Bridges also contributed to the war effort as one of the writers serving in Britain's War Propaganda Bureau at Wellington House.
