English composer and violinist. He was a child prodigy on the violin, and in 1763 he played a concerto in a concert at Bristol. After studying composition with William Boyce, he went to Florence for instruction with Nardini on the violin (from 1768). During his travels he met Mozart and Burney. After returning briefly to Bath, he moved to London with his family. He composed theater and choral works, including an oratorio, The Song of Moses; he also collaborated with his father, Thomas Linley, Sr., on the comic opera The Duenna (1775). He died in a boating accident.