The European Magazine
defunct monthly magazine in London

The European Magazine (sometimes referred to as European Magazine) was a monthly magazine published in London. Eighty-nine semi-annual volumes were published from 1782 until 1826. It was launched as the European Magazine, and London Review in January 1782, issued by London Philological Society, promising to offer "the Literature, History, Politics, Arts, Etiquette, and Amusements of the Age." It was in direct competition with The Gentleman's Magazine, and in 1826 was absorbed into the Monthly Magazine.
Soon after launching the European Magazine, its founding editor, James Perry, passed proprietorship to the Shakespearean scholar Isaac Reed and his partners John Sewell and Daniel Braithwaite, who guided the magazine during its first two decades.
The articles and other contributions in the magazine appeared over initials or pseudonyms and have largely remained anonymous. Scholars believe that the contributions include the first published poem by William Wordsworth (1787) and the earliest known printing of "O Sanctissima", the popular Sicilian Mariners Hymn (1792).
References
Further reading
Helene E. Roberts's short overview of the European Magazine in Alvin Sullivan, ed., British Literary Magazines: The Augustan Age and the Age of Johnson, 1698–1788 (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1983), pp. 106–112.
External links
The European Magazine, and London Review, vols.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The European Magazine” as defunct monthly magazine in London. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as defunct monthly magazine in London. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5412795. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1782, 1826, 1787 and 1792.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The European Magazine”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The European Magazine primary sources, The European Magazine archive and European research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The European Magazine”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The European Magazine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.