Oscar Wilde was born on 16 October 1854 in Dublin. An Irish poet, playwright and wit, Wilde was a leading figure of the aesthetic movement, which championed art for art's sake. He wrote the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and a series of sparkling comedies for the London stage, including Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest. At the height of his fame in 1895 he was prosecuted after a failed libel suit against the Marquess of Queensberry and convicted of gross indecency for his relationships with men, receiving two years of hard labour. In prison he wrote De Profundis, and after his release he produced The Ballad of Reading Gaol. He spent his last years in exile in France.
Before and after
- from 17 February 1854 to 31 May 1902Orange Free State
- 15 March 1854Birth of Emil von Behring
- 29 April 1854Birth of Henri Poincaré
- from 18 August 1854 to 28 August 1854Siege of Petropavlovsk
- 16 October 1854Birth of Oscar Wilde
- from 17 October 1854 to 9 September 1855Siege of Sevastopol
- 20 October 1854Birth of Arthur Rimbaud
- 25 October 1854Battle of Balaclava
- 21 November 1854Birth of Benedict XV
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of Dream of the Red Chamber
- 5 May 1821Founding of The Guardian
- 7 April 1837Publication of The Little Mermaid
- 21 February 1848Publication of The Communist Manifesto
- 18 September 1851Founding of The New York Times
- c. 1860sImpressionism
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.