40 Facts About Oscar Wilde

1. Oscar Wilde died of meningitis on November 30, 1900 at the age of 46.

2. On May 29, 1884, Oscar Wilde married a wealthy Englishwoman named Constance Lloyd.

3. Oscar Wilde went to France and never set foot in England again.

4. Oscar Wilde was prosecutor, but it was obvious he was himself on trial.

5. Oscar Wilde adored his children and spent hours playing with them.

6. Oscar Wilde took a job as a book reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette.

7. Oscar Wilde attracted attention from the ladies wherever he went, and often returned the favour.

8. Oscar Wilde poses for a photo by Napoleon Sarony in 1882.

9. Oscar Wilde testified brilliantly, but the jury failed to reach a verdict.

10. Oscar Wilde was born and raised in Ireland and was constantly surrounded by Gaelic, the Celtic language that is the traditional formal language of Ireland.

11. Oscar Wilde was an advocate of socialism and in his only political essay "The Soul of Man under Socialism" Wilde expounds an anarchist philosophy.

12. Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854, and had three middle names.

13. Oscar Wilde is a very interesting character to study about.

14. Oscar Wilde Awards, associated with the US-Ireland Alliance, occur each year to recognise Irish personalities in entertainment.

15. The book was the basis for the 1997 film Oscar Wilde, directed by Brian Gilbert and starring Stephen Fry as the title character.

16. Oscar Wilde wandered the boulevards alone and spent what little money he had on alcohol.

17. Oscar Wilde adopted the proletarian ballad form and the author was credited as "C33", Wilde's cell number in Reading Gaol.

18. Oscar Wilde took the name "Sebastian Melmoth", after Saint Sebastian and the titular character of Melmoth the Wanderer.

19. Oscar Wilde spent his last three years impoverished and in exile.

20. Oscar Wilde was not, at first, even allowed paper and pen but Haldane eventually succeeded in allowing access to books and writing materials.

21. Oscar Wilde spent the remainder of his sentence there, addressed and identified only as "C33"—the occupant of the third cell on the third floor of C ward.

22. Oscar Wilde was incarcerated from 25 May 1895 to 18 May 1897.

23. Oscar Wilde was freed from Holloway and, shunning attention, went into hiding at the house of Ernest and Ada Leverson, two of his firm friends.

24. In October 1889, Oscar Wilde had finally found his voice in prose and, at the end of the second volume, Wilde left The Woman's World.

25. Oscar Wilde worked hard to solicit good contributions from his wide artistic acquaintance, including those of Lady Wilde and his wife Constance, while his own "Literary and Other Notes" were themselves popular and amusing.

26. Oscar Wilde enjoyed reviewing and journalism; the form suited his style.

27. Oscar Wilde proposed to her, and they married on 29 May 1884 at the Anglican St James's Church, Paddington in London.

28. Oscar Wilde was left to return to England and lecturing on topics including Personal Impressions of America, The Value of Art in Modern Life, and Dress.

29. Oscar Wilde sought to transpose the beauty he saw in art into daily life.

30. Oscar Wilde spent the next six years in London and Paris, and in the United States where he travelled to deliver lectures.

31. Oscar Wilde won the 1878 Newdigate Prize for his poem "Ravenna", which reflected on his visit there the year before, and he duly read it at Encaenia.

32. Oscar Wilde eagerly read Cardinal Newman's books, and became more serious in 1878, when he met the Reverend Sebastian Bowden, a priest in the Brompton Oratory who had received some high-profile converts.

33. Oscar Wilde was deeply considering converting to Catholicism, discussing the possibility with clergy several times.

34. Oscar Wilde left Portora with a royal scholarship to read classics at Trinity College, Dublin, from 1871 to 1874, sharing rooms with his older brother Willie Wilde.

35. Oscar Wilde was baptised as an infant in St Mark's Church, Dublin, the local Church of Ireland church.

36. On his father's side Oscar Wilde was descended from a Dutchman, Colonel de Wilde, who went to Ireland with King William of Orange's invading army in 1690.

37. Oscar Wilde wrote books about Irish archaeology and peasant folklore.

38. Oscar Wilde died destitute in Paris at the age of 46.

39. Oscar Wilde wrote Salome in French while in Paris but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage.

40. Oscar Wilde became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin.