Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish playwright, poet, and novelist, known for his biting wit, defense of aesthetics, and defiance of social conventions. The author of celebrated comedies, including The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, and the iconic novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, spent the last years of his life in exile in France, supported by only a few friends. Today his grave is a site of pilgrimage for anyone who believes in free love.
Ulrich Baer holds degrees from Harvard and Yale, has been awarded Guggenheim, Getty, and Humboldt fellowships, and is University Professor at New York University. He has published books on poetry, photography, and free speech, a novel, short stories, and edited Dickinson, Nietzsche, Rilke, Shakespeare, and Wilde on Love.
Date of Birth:
October 16, 1854
Date of Death:
November 30, 1900
Place of Birth:
Dublin, Ireland
Place of Death:
Paris, France
Education:
The Royal School in Enniskillen, Dublin, 1864; Trinity College, Dublin, 1871; Magdalen College, Oxford, England, 1874
