Jonathan Swift (November 30, 1667 – October 19, 1745) was an Anglo-Irish priest, satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, and poet famous for works like Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, The Drapier's Letters, The Battle of the Books, and A Tale of a Tub. Swift is probably the foremost prose satirist in the English language, although he is less well known for his poetry. Swift published all of his works under pseudonyms -- such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier -- or anonymously.

Biography

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Jonathan Swift was born at No. 7, Hoey's Court, Dublin, the second child and only son of Jonathan and Abigail Erick (or Herrick) Swift, English immigrants. Jonathan arrived seven months after his father's untimely death. Most of the facts of Swift's early life are obscure, confused and sometimes contradictory. It is widely believed that his mother returned to England when Jonathan was still very young, leaving him to be raised by his father's family. His uncle Godwin took primary responsibility for the young Jonathan, sending him to Kilkenny Grammar School with one of his cousins (also attended by the philosopher George Berkeley). In 1682 he attended Dublin University (Trinity College, Dublin), receiving his B.A. in 1686. Swift was studying for his Masters when political troubles in Ireland surrounding the Glorious Revolution forced him to leave for England in 1688, where his mother helped him get a position as secretary and personal assistant of Sir William Temple at Moor Park. Temple was an English diplomat who, having arranged the Triple Alliance (1688), retired from public service to his country estate to tend his gardens and write his memoirs. Growing into confidence with his employer, Swift "was often trusted with matters of great importance." Within three years of their acquaintance, Temple had introduced his secretary to William III, and sent him to London to urge the King to consent to a bill for triennial Parliaments.

When Swift took up his residence at Moor Park, he met Esther Johnson, then 8 years old, the fatherless daughter of one of the household servants. Swift acted as her tutor and mentor, giving her the nickname "Stella" and the two maintained a close, but ambiguous, relationship for the rest of Esther's life.

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Swift, Jonathan - Twitter Search

BDAY: Clay Aiken; Shirley Chisholm; Winston Churchill; Jonathan Swift: http://www.famousbirthdays.com/nov.html#30
HistorTweet (ThisTweetInHistory) Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:54:14 -0000
BDAY: Clay Aiken; Shirley Chisholm; Winston Churchill; Jonathan Swift: http://www.famousbirthdays.com/nov.html#30
"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." Jonathan Swift - www.knowords.com
Wylieknowords (Wylie Jones) Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:49:27 -0000
"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." Jonathan Swift - www.knowords.com
"we have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love" -Jonathan Swift
pinarosana (pinarosana) Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:47:48 -0000
"we have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love" -Jonathan Swift
Hey...it's Jonathan Swift's birthday today (Dec 30)...Mark Twain, too.
kbairokeeffe (K Bair O'Keeffe) Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:23:52 -0000
Hey...it's Jonathan Swift's birthday today (Dec 30)...Mark Twain, too.
Happy Birthday Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain - Can't believe that two world-class authors were born today (Thanks to RJ Priyanka Mathews)
varun_iiml (Varun Reddy) Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:02:32 -0000
Happy Birthday Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain - Can't believe that two world-class authors were born today (Thanks to RJ Priyanka Mathews)
@RCDLoan Argument is the worst sort of conversation. - Jonathan Swift #quotes
quoteshash (John Shin) Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:42:30 -0000
@RCDLoan Argument is the worst sort of conversation. - Jonathan Swift #quotes

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