# Robert Burton

## Biography

Robert Burton, born in Leicestershire, England, on February 8, 1577, was an English scholar and Anglican clergyman who dedicated much of his life to Oxford University. He matriculated at Brasenose College in 1593 before transferring to Christ Church, where he would remain for the rest of his days as a student and later as a fellow. Throughout his lengthy academic career, he earned multiple degrees, including a Bachelor of Divinity in 1614, and served as the vicar of St. Thomas's Church in Oxford and as a librarian for Christ Church. Burton is best known for his monumental work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621 under the pseudonym Democritus Junior. This expansive treatise, which he continuously revised and expanded, delves deeply into the nature, causes, and cures of melancholy, a term then used for what is now understood as depression. His writing is characterized by its extensive erudition, drawing from a vast array of sources, and a unique blend of scholarly inquiry with wit and informal commentary. Burton died in Oxford on January 25, 1640, leaving behind a literary legacy that profoundly influenced subsequent generations of writers and thinkers.

## Books

- [The Anatomy of Melancholy](https://samolit.com/books/95942)