Christopher Marlowe stabbed to death in a London pub
On this day in 1593 English playwright Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in a London pub. Although he was born in 1564, the same... Read More
G K Chesterton combines wit and religion
On this day in 1874 English writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born. A prolific writer of lay theology and philosophy as well as novels and... Read More
Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, statesman and drinker
On this day in 1140 the Chinese poet, statesman and military leader Xin Qiji was born. His life seems to have been one of service... Read More
Jean Paul Sartre’s view of Hell
On this day in 1944 Jean Paul Sartre’s Existentialist play Huis Clos (‘Dead End’) was first performed in Paris. It was a tense time already... Read More
A E Housman, a gay Shropshire lad
On this day in 1859 the English poet Alfred Edward (A. E.) Housman was born. He is best remembered today for his lyrical and evocative... Read More
Ralph Waldo Emerson and the ‘shot heard round the world’
On this day in 1803 American writer and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson was born. Known today as a leader of the Romantic Movement, he wrote... Read More
Anthony Trollope worked in the Post Office
On this day in 1815 novelist Anthony Trollope was born. Trollope drew on incidents in his own life when writing his famous series of novels... Read More