GESSNER, SALOMON (173o--1788), Swiss poet, painter and etcher, was born at Zurich on April 1, 173o, and died there on March 2, 1788. The first of his writings to attract attention was his Lied eines Schweizers an sein bewa ff netes Madchen ; but most of his other work consisted of "Pastoral Idylls" in a rhythmical prose. Der Tod Abels (1758) was translated into most European languages, including Welsh. The English version ran through about a score of editions, was appreciated by Scott, Byron and Wordsworth, and is mentioned by Hood in his "Dream of Eugene Aram." This extraordinary popularity, not very in telligible now, was apparently due to the fact that he was one of the earliest poets to combine keen observation and love of nature, profound religious feeling and strong patriotism. He translated some of Pope's Pastorals. His etchings are better than his some what conventional landscapes.
The final collected edition of his works was published at Zurich in 1841. Lives of him were written by J. J. Hottinger (1796) and H. W olfen (1884) . See also his Brie f wechsel mit seinem Sohn (186 i ) and Bertha Reed, The Influence of Salomon Gessner on English Litera ture (Philadelphia, 1905) .