The New Student's Reference Work/Howitt, William and Mary
How′itt, William and Mary, English writers of the first half of the 19th century. William was born in 1795 at Heanor, Derbyshire, England. On April 16, 1821, he married Mary Botham, born at Uttoxeter, England, March 12, 1799. The record of their lives is a record of the books they wrote. Some of their joint productions are Literature and Romances of Northern Europe, Stories of English Life and Ruined Abbeys of Great Britain. Mary Howitt was the first to translate the works of Hans Andersen into English. William wrote History of Priestcraft, Rural Life in England, Student Life in Germany, Homes and Haunts of the British Poets and Poems. They both died at Rome, William on March 3, 1879, and Mary on Jan. 30, 1888. See Mary Howitt, an Autobiography, edited by her daughter, Margaret.