Background
The eldest of the seventeen children of Henry Homer the elder, he was born at Warwick in 1753.
The eldest of the seventeen children of Henry Homer the elder, he was born at Warwick in 1753.
He then studied for three years at Birmingham. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1773, Master of Arts
In 1758 he entered Rugby School, of which, at the age of fourteen, he was the head boy. In November 1768 he was admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, under Richard Farmer, where he became acquainted with Samuel Parr, who helped to direct his studies. in 1776, and Bachelor of Divinity in 1783. Homer was elected a Fellow of his college in 1778, and returned to the university from Warwickshire, where he had been living for about three years, soon after his election.
About this time he was admitted into deacon"s orders.
He now resided chiefly at Cambridge, and spent much time in the university library, turning his attention to philological studies. In consequence of religious scruples, Homer declined to take priest"s orders in compliance with the college statutes, and his fellowship was therefore declared vacant in June 1788.
He died at Birdingbury of a rapid decline on 4 May 1791, and was buried in the churchyard there.