Oliver Goldsmith
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Categories: Literature, Publishing
- Subcategories: Authors, Writers, Drama, Theater, Playwrights, Historians
- Curriculum: British History, 18th Century European History
Article abstract: As a novelist, poet, dramatist, and essayist, Goldsmith stands in the first rank. His The Life of Richard Nash, Esq. (1762) pioneered a new type of biography, and his historical writings helped educate generations of schoolchildren and adults.
Early Life
Many uncertainties linger about Oliver Goldsmith. Among them are the date and place of his birth. He was probably born on November 10, 1728 or 1730—though any year between 1728 and 1731 is possible—in Pallas, County Longford, Ireland, as the fifth child and second son of the...
[The entire page is 3091 words long]