Went to breakfast with a retired teacher friend - i told him i was looking for some poetry of nature from the 1800's and he said to try this poet. He is also a distant relative of the author! William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) born Nov. 3, 1794 , Cummington, Mass died June 12, 1878 , New York City 1794-1878, American poet and newspaper editor, b. Cummington, Mass. The son of a learned and highly respected physician, Bryant was exposed to English poetry in his father's vast library. As a boy he became devoted to the New England countryside and was a keen observer of nature. In his early poems such as "Thanatopsis," "To a Waterfowl," "Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood," and "The Yellow Violet," all written before he was 21, he celebrated the majesty of nature in a style that was influenced by the English romantics but also reflected a personal simplicity and dignity.