Fun Facts About Oscar Wilde
- Oscar Wilde, no fan of early rising or manual labor, volunteered for John Ruskin's project to turn a swampy country lane into a smart road edged with flowers.[1]
- Wilde wrote his play Salome in French, and it was refused a license in England, where biblical subjects were banned from the stage.[1]
- In 1887 Wilde became editor of The Lady's World magazine and promptly renamed it The Woman's World.[1]
- Threatened with a thrashing by the Marquess of Queensberry, creator of boxing's modern rules, Wilde replied that the Oscar Wilde rule was to shoot on sight.[1]
- Wilde took the name Sebastian Melmoth, after Saint Sebastian and Melmoth the Wanderer, a Gothic novel by his great-uncle Charles Maturin.[1]
- Confined to his hotel near the end of his life, Wilde joked that he and his wallpaper were fighting a duel to the death.[1]
- Oscar Wilde and Albert Einstein were alive at the same time for 21 years.[1][2][3][4]
- Oscar Wilde was alive at the same time as Carl Friedrich Gauss — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1854–1855).[1][2][5][6]
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish author, poet and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential dramatists in London in the early 1890s. He was a key figure in the emerging Aestheticism movement of the late 19th century and is regarded by many as the greatest playwright of the Victorian era. Wilde is best known for his Gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), his epigrams, plays and bedtime stories for children, as well as his criminal conviction in 1895 for gross indecency and for practicing homosexual acts.[1]
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Questions About Oscar Wilde
When was Oscar Wilde born?
Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, and died on November 30, 1900.
How old was Oscar Wilde at death?
Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, and died on November 30, 1900, at age 46.
What was Oscar Wilde known for?
Oscar Wilde was known for: The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm. Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish author, poet and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential dramatists in London in the early 1890s. He was a key figure in the emerging Aestheticism movement of the late 19th century and is regarded by many as the greatest playwright of the Victorian era. Wilde is best known for his Gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), his epigrams, plays and bedtime stories for children, as well as his criminal conviction in 1895 for gross indecency and for practicing homosexual acts.
Who was alive at the same time as Oscar Wilde?
Oscar Wilde's closest contemporary was Giuseppe Verdi. Their lives overlapped for 46 years.
Sources
- Oscar Wilde — Wikipedia. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Oscar Wilde (Q30875) — Wikidata
- Albert Einstein — Wikipedia
- Albert Einstein (Q937) — Wikidata
- Carl Friedrich Gauss — Wikipedia
- Carl Friedrich Gauss (Q6722) — Wikidata
- Portrait: Oscar Wilde by Napoleon Sarony. Three-quarter-length photograph, seated.jpg — Wikimedia Commons. Napoleon Sarony / Adam Cuerden, Public domain