Jonathan Swift – 18th-century Anglo-Irish writer, author of Gulliver’s Travels and the pamphlet A Modest Proposal. Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, he fused satire with politics. His irony exposed the cruelty and absurdity of society, making his name synonymous with biting satire.
📚 Gulliver’s Travels was intended as political satire, not a children’s book. 🖋️ In A Modest Proposal, he ironically suggested “eating children” to end poverty. 🏛️ Served as a clergyman, making his satire sharper and more paradoxical. 📖 Wrote under pseudonyms – Isaac Bickerstaff, Lemuel Gulliver. 🌍 His works have been translated into many languages, shaping world literature. 💔 Suffered lifelong illness, particularly ear disease causing vertigo. 📰 A fiery pamphleteer, active in Dublin and London politics. 📜 His epitaph reads: “Here lies where savage indignation can no longer lacerate the heart.” 😲 Curious fact: could compose verses with both hands at once. 😄 Funny fact: joked he was “born serious to laugh at the whole world.”