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What name did Samuel Taylor Coleridge use when he enlisted in the military?
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, detail of an oil painting by Washington Allston, 1814; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
When Samuel Taylor Coleridge enlisted as a dragoon in 1793, he used the assumed name Silas Tomkyn Comberbache.1
Coleridge, an influential English poet and critic, took this step while struggling with financial difficulties during his time at the University of Cambridge. Although he was largely unfit for military service, he remained in the regiment until his friends discovered his whereabouts, leading his brothers to secure his discharge so he could return to his studies.21