J. Blanco White

Joseph Blanco White, born of Jose Maria Blanco to Crespo (July 11, 1775 - May 20, 1841), was a Spanish theologian and poet. Blanco White was born in Seville, Spain. He was of Irish descent and was the son of a merchant Guillermo Blanco (pseudonym White, English vice consul who settled in Seville during the reign of Fernando VI) and Maria Gertrudis Crespo and Neve. Blanco White was educated for the Roman Catholic priesthood. In Seville, Spain, he worked with Melchor de Hovellanos, an adviser to the king who advocated reform. After the ordination in 1800, White's religious doubts forced him to leave Spain and in 1810 to leave for England. There, he eventually joined the Church of England, studying theology at Oxford and making the friendship of Thomas Arnold, John Henry Newman, Rev. ET Daniel and Richard Waitley. He became a mentor in the Waitley family when Waitley became Archbishop of Dublin in 1831. In this position, White took unitary views. He took refuge among the Unitarian Liverpool and died in the city on May 20, 1841.