Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, short story writer and Freemason. He was born in Dublin to unconventional parents - his mother Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1820-96), was a poet and journalist. His father was Sir William Wilde, an Irish antiquarian, writer and leading ear and eye surgeon. Wilde studied at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (1864-71), Trinity College, Dublin (1871-74) and Magdalen College, Oxford (1874-78).
In 1878 Wilde relocated to London where his flamboyant lifestyle and wit soon made him the spokesman for Aestheticism, the late 19th century movement in England that advocated art for art's sake. He worked as art reviewer, lectured in the United States and Canada (1882), and lived in Paris for a time. He also lectured in Britain between 1883 and 1884. Wilde was also a regular contributor for Pall Mall Gazette and Dramatic View. In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd, a marriage which would end in 1893.
His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1891. Critics have often claimed that there existed parallels between Wilde's life and that of the book's protagonist, and it was used as evidence against him at his trial.
Wilde's reputation was made in the theatre world between the years 1892 and 1895 with a series of highly popular plays starting with the production of Lady Windermere's Fan in February 1892. This was followed by A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
Although married and the father of two children, Wilde's personal life was rife with scandal. His years of triumph ended dramatically, when his intimate association with Alfred Douglas led to his trial on charges of homosexuality (then illegal in Britain). He was sentenced to two years hard labor for the crime of sodomy. Wilde was first in Wandsworth prison, London, and then in Reading Gaol. During this time he wrote De Profundis (1905), a dramatic monologue and autobiography, which was addressed to Alfred Douglas.
After his release in 1897 Wilde in Berneval, near Dieppe. He wrote "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", revealing his concern for inhumane prison conditions. Wilde died of cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900, penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel at the age of 46.
More information at: the Oscar Wilde Site and the Oscar Wilde Collection.
There are more photos in the picts section.
