Francis Thompson (1859–1907), was an English poet and literary critic. His father was a doctor, and he came from a Catholic family. He was educated at Ushaw, but failed to follow in his father’s footsteps as a doctor. Thompson moved to London and lived for three years as a destitute and homeless vagabond. He attempted to make money through bookselling, shoemaking, selling matches, and calling cabs. He was also a recipient of patronage from a wealthy couple. Upon writing and submitting a small poem for publication, Thompson’s literary career took off and he was able to leave the streets and an opium addiction that had wrecked his health. Upon his death, G.K. Chesterton commented, “we lost the greatest poetic energy since Browning.”