American poet, critic, and educator Louis Aston Marantz Simpson (born 1923) was widely recognized for the elegance of his verse.

Louis Simpson was born on March 27, 1923, in Kingston, Jamaica, in the British West Indies, the son of Aston and Rosalind (Marantz) Simpson. In 1949 he married Jeanne Rogers, but was divorced in 1953. He married for the second time to Dorothy Roochvarg in 1955, but was divorced in 1979. The son of his first marriage is Matthew Simpson; the children of his second marriage are Anne Simpson and Anthony Simpson.

He came to the United States in 1940 and in World War II served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. He was promoted to sergeant; was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster; was twice awarded the Purple Star; and, as a member of his unit, received a Presidential Citation. Educated after the war at Columbia University, New York City, he earned...