Jonathan Swift

Pseudonym: Isaac Bickerstaff

Jonathan Swift (November 30, 1667 - October 19, 1745) was an Anglo-Irish author, satirist, and Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral. He is most famous for writing the novel "Gulliver's Travels" in 1726.

## Biography

### Early Life

Jonathan Swift was born on November 30, 1667 in Hoey's Court, Dublin, Ireland to Jonathan Swift the elder (who died 7 months before his son's birth) and Abigail Swift (maiden name Erick). "With his father dead, his mother in another country, he and his sister Jane passed their childhood amid a welter of cousins." When he was 1 year old, he was kidnapped by a nurse and raised for 3 years in Whitehaven, England. He was later "brought back to Ireland," and was "sent to the school of Kilkenny" in 1673 as a boarding student. Later, in 1682, he entered Trinity College, but was a rebellious student. "He was about to take his MA degree in 1689," but ran away to his mother's home in Leicester, England due to the Glorious Revolution, a war between the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. Later, Swift "found a position as secretary to the ex-diplomat and writer Sir William Temple."

### Career

During the time when he worked under Sir William Temple, he met Esther Johnson, nicknamed "Stella." "He helped her with her reading and writing, and her company brought him solace and pleasure." Also during the three periods he worked as secretary, between his second and third periods, he returned "to Ireland to take holy orders" in 1694. From 1696 and 1699, he wrote most of his first major work, *A Tale of a Tub*. After Sir William Temple's death, Swift became vicar of Laracor in 1700, and in 1702, he took "the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Trinity College, and was [henceforth] known as Dr Swift." In 1704, he published his books *A Tale of a Tub*, *The Battle of the Books*, and *The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit* anonymously.

By publishing his books, he gained "the friendship and admiration of other writers," and met Whigs (a group of people from the government), as well as Esther Vanhomrigh (nicknamed "Vanessa"), Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. When he met Addison and Steele in 1708, he published *The Bickerstaff-Partridge Papers* (written under the alias "Isaac Bickerstaff) and *An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity*. In 1710, Swift returns to England, allies with the Tories, and becomes an editor for the *The Examiner*, a Tory newspaper. 3 years later, he becomes the Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral. When the Tories lose power of England, Swift returns to Ireland. It is a little after this time that Swift allegedly married Stella, and "begins to publish tracts on Irish problems."

### Later Life & Death

From 1720 to 1726, Jonathan Swift works on, finishes, and publishes his novel, Gulliver's Travels. During that time, he met the Pope in England and published *Drapier's Letters*. He later made his final trip to England and published several books, but Stella passed away in 1728. As he got older, Swift began suffering from Meniere's Disease, and later suffers a paralytic stroke. On October 19, 1745, Swift dies. Swift's epitaph, written in Latin, reads:
*Savage indignation thereCannot lacerate his breast.Imitate him if you dare,World-besotted traveller; heServed human liberty**.*

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Swift, Jonathan. "Gulliver's Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the World, Volume 1." pg. i - xii.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Encyclopedia Britannica. Quintana, Ricardo, et al J.E. Luebering. "Jonathan Swift." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonathan-Swift
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Saint Patrick's Cathedral Dublin. May 26, 2016. "Jonathan Swift, Dean 1713 – 1745." https://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/jonathan-swift-dean-1713-1745/
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Archived. The New York Times. Glendinning, Victoria. "Jonathan Swift: A Portrait." https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/glendinning-swift.html
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dictionary of National Biography 1855-1900, Volume 55. Stephen, Leslie. "Swift, Jonathan." pg. 204.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 "A Chronology of Jonathan Swift's Life." https://www.uv.es/~fores/jscro1.html
7. ↑ Amazon. Swift, Jonathan. "The Bickerstaff-Partridge Papers." https://www.amazon.com/Bickerstaff-Partridge-Papers-Jonathan-Swift/dp/1687641706