Oscar Wilde, Irish writer, 1854-1900

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, the early 1890s saw him become one of the most popular playwrights in London. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray", and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for "gross indecency", imprisonment, and early death at age 46. His famous play "The Importance of Being Earnest" premiered in 1895 in London and is now considered Wilde‘s masterpiece.