Oliver Goldsmith

Oliver Goldsmith (c. 1730–1774) was born in Ireland and educated at Trinity College Dublin; he later studied medicine, without taking a degree, at Edinburgh and Leiden, and wandered on foot through Europe before settling in London to write for hire. He became a close friend of Samuel Johnson and a founding member of Johnson’s “Club” in 1764. His novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) — sold by Johnson to save him from debtor’s prison — the poem The Deserted Village (1770), and the play She Stoops to Conquer (1773) are his best-remembered works. He died in London, heavily in debt.