| Isaac Gompertz | |
| Birth Place: | Middlesex, England |
| Death Date: | 25 February 1856 (aged 82) |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Resting Place: | Brompton Cemetery, London |
| Occupation: | Poet |
| Children: | 3 |
| Years Active: | 1813–1825 |
| Pseudonym: | J. Gompertz |
Isaac Gompertz (1774 – 25 February 1856) was an English poet. He was known for the poems "The Modern Antique", "Time, or Light and Shade" and "Devon".
Isaac Gompertz was born in Middlesex in 1774, into a Jewish family. He was one of at least 15 children of Solomon Barent Gompertz, a London diamond merchant, and his second wife, Leah Deborah Cohen.[1] His brothers included the early animal rights activist Lewis Gompertz and the mathematician and actuary Benjamin Gompertz.[2] He later composed epitaphs for his brother Barent[3] and for Lewis' wife.[4]
On 3 December 1818, Gompertz married Charlotte Florence Wattier at St Mary's Church, Ealing. They had three sons.
Contemporaries, including Alexander Jamieson,[5] compared Gompertz to literary figures such as Dryden, Pope, Addison and Gray.[6] He was known for his poems "The Modern Antique", "Time, or Light and Shade", and "Devon".[7] His works garnered positive attention from Leigh Hunt[8] and were well received by the contemporary press.[9] His final work, Devon, a Poem, was published under the name J. Gompertz.
Gompertz died at his home in Ebury Street, London, on 25 February 1856, at the age of 82. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery.