Joseph Blanco White

Who was Joseph Blanco White?

Joseph Blanco White, born José María Blanco Crespo, was a Spanish theologian and poet.

White was born in Seville, Spain. He had Irish ancestry and was the son of the merchant Guillermo Blanco and María Gertrudis Crespo y Neve.

White was educated for the Roman Catholic priesthood but, after his ordination in 1800, religious doubts led him to escape from Spain to England. There he ultimately entered the Anglican Church, having studied theology at Oxford and made the friendship of Thomas Arnold, John Henry Newman and Richard Whately. He became tutor in Whately's family when Whately became the Archbishop of Dublin in 1831. While in this position White embraced Unitarian views. He found asylum amongst the Unitarians of Liverpool, and he died in the city on 20 May 1841.

White edited El Español, a monthly Spanish magazine in London, from 1810 to 1814. Afterwards he received a civil list pension of £250. His principal writings are Doblado's Letters from Spain, Evidence against Catholicism, Second Travels of an Irish Gentleman in Search of a Religion and Observations on Heresy and Orthodoxy. They all show literary ability and were extensively read in their day.