Washington Allston (1779-1843): American painter and poet. During his time in Rome in 1805–1808 he formed a close friendship with Coleridge, and the two greatly influenced each others’ ideas about the fine arts. Allston lived in England 1811–1818 and gained some renown for his The Dead Man Restored to Life by Touching the Bones of the Prophet Elisha (1811–1814). Southey met him in 1813 and shared Coleridge’s admiration for Allston’s works.

Edward Erasmus Atkins (d. 1820/1821?): In 1820–1821, Atkins wrote (anonymously) to Southey about the latter’s proposed ‘Life of George Fox and the Rise and Progress of Quakerism’. Southey replied, but Atkins died before the letter reached him; see New Letters of Robert Southey, ed. Kenneth Curry, 2 vols (New York and London, 1965), II, p. 222, n. 1, which contains the only definite information about Atkins.

Robert Allen (1772-1805): Surgeon and journalist. Educated at Christ’s Hospital (where he was a contemporary of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Charles Lamb) and University College, Oxford (BA 1796, MA 1803, MB and MD 1803). He first met Southey, who was flirting with a career in medicine, at the Anatomy School in Oxford in early 1794. They became firm friends, Southey later describing how in 1794 Allen had been his ‘bosom-companion’ and had ‘rendered many hours delightful which would otherwise have passed in the destructive daydreams of solitude’.

Richard Boyle Adderley (d. 1857): A friend of Southey’s during his time at Westminster School. His family were from Innishannon, Co. Cork; in later life he was a barrister and civil servant.

Arthur Aikin (1773-1854): Son of John Aikin and nephew of Anna Letitia Barbauld. A Unitarian intellectual, writer and lecturer on chemistry and mineralogy and from 1803–1808 the editor of the Annual Review, the journal for which Southey wrote before he became a regular contributor to the Quarterly Review.

Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823): Cartographer of Soho Square, London, renowned for his 1790 large chart of the world. Among Arrowsmith’s other productions were A Map Exhibiting All the New Discoveries in the Interior Parts of North America (1795, rev. 1801, 1802, 1804), Chart of the South Pacific (1798) and A New Map of Africa (1802). Southey employed him to make an accurate map of South America for the first volume of his History of Brazil and suggested several books as sources for information about geographical locations.

John Adamson (1787-1855): Solicitor, antiquary, Portuguese scholar and leading figure in the intellectual life of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He corresponded with Southey over their shared interest in Portuguese literature and translation. His Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Luis de Camoens (1820) was greatly admired by Southey.

Thomas Amyot (1775-1850): Lawyer and antiquary, who had been private secretary to William Windham (1750–1819; DNB), 1806–1810. He sent Southey papers relating to the campaign in Spain and Portugal.

George Baird (1761-1840): Church of Scotland minister and Principal of Edinburgh University. A gifted modern linguist, he also had a keen interest in education, especially schemes for the education of the poor in the Scottish islands and highlands. He was on good terms with Andrew Bell, persuading the latter to bequeath £5,000 for this purpose. In 1827 Baird wrote to Southey requesting that he write a poem, probably supporting Baird’s work as convenor of the Highlands and Islands Committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Robert Baldwin (1780-1858): Printer, publisher and bookseller, in partnership with Charles Cradock from 1810. He founded the London Magazine in 1820–1821 and commissioned Southey to produce an edition of The Works of William Cowper (1835–1837). Baldwin’s firm went bankrupt and this involved Southey in an extensive correspondence before he received part of the payment he was promised. Baldwin spent the rest of his life as stock-keeper of the Stationers’ Company.