Meets Patron John Linnell
Blake met John Linnell, whose support encouraged major illustration projects late in his career.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
William Blake Biography and Timeline — Page 2
Follow William Blake through 50 dated historical records for Great Britain.
William Blake, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
50Distinct records
2 of 2Page
1818–1827Years on this page
1818
1819
Visionary Heads Drawings Begin
Blake began producing visionary portrait drawings for John Varley, depicting historical and imagined figures.
1820
Jerusalem
Publication of "Jerusalem"
On Homers Poetry Written
Blake wrote On Homer's Poetry and On Virgil, short critical statements on classical poetic imagination.
1821
Illustrates Thornton Virgil
Blake produced woodcuts for Robert John Thornton's edition of Virgil, offering distinctive pastoral imagery.
1822
Revisits Gates of Paradise
Blake revised and extended his emblematic work The Gates of Paradise for a later audience.
1824
Begins Dante Illustrations
Blake undertook illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy, a major unfinished late literary project.
1826
Book of Job Engravings Published
Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job appeared as an engraved series published with John Linnell's support.
1827
Death of William Blake
Death of William Blake
Dante Engravings Remain Unfinished
Blake's work on engraved designs for Dante remained unfinished at his death, leaving a notable visual interpretation.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.