George Bernard Shaw was born on 26 July 1856 in Dublin. An Irish playwright, critic and public commentator, Shaw moved from Dublin to London in 1876 and became a leading member of the Fabian Society, which promoted gradual socialism. After working as a music, theatre and art critic, he turned to writing plays that mixed wit with social argument, among them Man and Superman, Major Barbara, Pygmalion and Saint Joan. Pygmalion later became the basis of the musical My Fair Lady. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925 and an Oscar for the screenplay of Pygmalion in 1938, making him the only person to win both. He was a vegetarian and a provocative public figure, and he lived to ninety-four.
Before and after
- 30 March 1856Treaty of Paris
- 24 April 1856Birth of Philippe Pétain
- 6 May 1856Birth of Sigmund Freud
- 10 July 1856Birth of Nikola Tesla
- 26 July 1856Birth of George Bernard Shaw
- 29 July 1856Death of Robert Schumann
- August 1856Discovery of Neanderthal 1
- 23 August 1856Earthquake in Oshima, Japan
- from 19 October 1856 to 12 January 1964Sultanate of Zanzibar
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of La Marseillaise
- 7 May 1824Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premieres
- 26 November 1865Publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- 1871The Internationale
- 19 March 1882Construction of Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family
- from 1886 to 1905Rise of Post-impressionism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.