Thomas Hardy was born on 2 June 1840 in Dorchester. An English novelist and poet, Hardy trained as an architect before turning to writing, and set most of his work in a partly fictional region he called Wessex, based on Dorset and the neighboring counties. His novels, including Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, deal with fate, social convention and rural change, and are known for their tragic outlook. The hostile reception of Jude led him to stop writing novels and devote himself to poetry. His epic drama in verse, The Dynasts, concerns the Napoleonic Wars.
Before and after
- 1840Construction of Trafalgar Square
- 2 April 1840Birth of Émile Zola
- 25 April 1840Birth of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1 May 1840The Penny Black, the first postage stamp, is issued
- 2 June 1840Birth of Thomas Hardy
- 12 November 1840Birth of Auguste Rodin
- 14 November 1840Birth of Claude Monet
- 1841Discovery of praseodymium
- 1841Publication of Swiss Psalm
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of Dream of the Red Chamber
- 21 February 1848Publication of The Communist Manifesto
- 18 September 1851Founding of The New York Times
- 1857Rise of Symbolism
- 28 December 1895The Lumiere brothers hold the first public film screening
- 1909Rise of Futurism
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.