Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
John Betjeman
Sign in to saveAlso known as Sir John Betjeman, John Betjeman Sir, Richard M. Farran, John, Sir Betjeman
English poet, writer and broadcaster (1906–1984)
OverviewAI-generated
John Betjeman (1906–1984) was a British poet, translator, journalist, and literary critic born in London. He was educated at Dragon School, Highgate School, Marlborough College, and Magdalen College. His notable works include *Ground plan to skyline*, *Collected poems*, *Cornwall illustrated*, *Collins guide to English parish churches*, and *The Best of Betjeman*.
Betjeman served as the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and received several awards, including the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry, the Albert Medal, and Knight Bachelor. He was an Anglican who wrote in English. His works are held in collections such as the National Gallery of Art, with archives located at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the British Library.
He died of natural causes from Parkinson's disease in Cornwall. Betjeman’s writings often addressed art history and literature. He is quoted stating that hymns are the poetry of the people and that history must not be written with bias. His works have been cited by 133 sources, and he has a presence on record label Charisma.
Synthesized by Vinony from 43 facts across 9 sources: Wikidata, OpenAlex, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Crossref, Last.fm, TMDb, Wikiquote, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1906
- Died
- 1984
- Works
- 219
Top works
- Ground plan to skyline
- Collected poems
- Cornwall illustrated
- Collins guide to English parish churches
- The Best of Betjeman
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting
Known for
- The Private Life of the Ford Cortina — Self1982
- Late Flowering Love1981
- The Innes Book of Records — Guest1979
- Summoned by Bells — Himself1976
- A Passion for Churches — Self/Narrator1974
- Metro-Land1973
- Railways for Ever! — Narrator (voice)1970
- Marble Arch to Edgware — Self1968
- Poet Goes North — Himself1968
- Larkin and Betjeman: Down Cemetery Road — Self1964
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United Kingdom
- Active from
- 1906
- Active to
- 1984
Discography
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 728
- Total plays
- 5,223
Tags
Sir John Betjeman (1906–1984) was an English poet, famous for poetry portraying British life and nature, often humorously. He recorded four albums for Charisma Records: Betjeman's Banana Blush, Late Flowering Love (both 1974), Betjeman's Britain (1977). and Varsity Rag (1981) with musical arrangements by Jim Parker. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/John+Betjeman">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Academic profile · OpenAlex
- Works
- 57
- Cited by
- 133
Research areas
Most cited works
- London's historic railway stations1972 · 19 cit
- John Betjeman's collected poems1958 · 11 cit
- Ghastly Good Taste: Or, a Depressing Story of the Rise and Fall of English Architecture2009 · 11 cit
- Summoned by Bells1960 · 10 cit
- An Oxford University Chest1938 · 8 cit
via OpenAlex · CC0
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple
· 1996 · cited 204,552x
- Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold
· 2021 · cited 43,600x
- Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology
· 2000 · cited 36,901x
- Matplotlib: A 2D Graphics Environment
· 2007 · cited 35,568x
- The MOS 36-ltem Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)
· 1992 · cited 29,128x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “"I think the mystery of its winding drive gave me a respect for the system of hereditary land owing which I have never shaken off. (Rawsden Manor Wilts.)”
- “The test of an abstract picture, for me, is not my first reaction to it, but how long I can stand it hanging on the wall of a room where I am living.”
- “It was through looking at churches that I came to believe in the reason churches were built.”
- “History must not be written with bias, and both sides must be given, even if there is only one side.”
- “Hymns are the poetry of the people.”
- “There are two things you need for a jolly good hymn. The first is a set of words that expresses the mood or sentiment of the worshipper. The second—and perhaps even more important—is a good tune ... with a simple popular melody.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Monarch
- Elizabeth II
- Preceded by
- Cecil Day-Lewis
- Succeeded by
- Ted Hughes
- Born
- John Betjemann , ( 1906-08-28 ) 28 August 1906, London, England
- Died
- 19 May 1984 (1984-05-19) (aged 77), Trebetherick , Cornwall, England
- Spouse
- Penelope Chetwode ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 29 July 1933</span>"}]]}'>1933 ; separated</span>"}]]}'>sep. 1972 )
- Domestic partner
- Lady Elizabeth Cavendish
- Children
- 2, including Candida Lycett Green
- Education
- Marlborough College
- Alma mater
- Magdalen College, Oxford
- Occupation
- Poet, writer, broadcaster
via Wikipedia infobox
~28 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Sir John Betjeman (/ˈbɛtʃəmən/; 28 August 1906 – 19 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and first president of The Hackney Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, helping to save St Pancras railway station from demolition. He began his career as a journalist and ended it as one of the most popular British Poets Laureate and a much-loved figure on British television.
Life
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Betjeman” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.