Regarded as one of the greatest satirists in literary history, Jonathan Swift was born in 1667 in Dublin, Ireland. Though he initially pursued a career in the clergy, he ultimately turned to writing, addressing social and political issues of the time with the sharp wit and keen insights that came to define his work. The most famous of these is Gulliver’s Travels, first published anonymously in 1726. Written as a scathing parody of the travel literature popular with 18th-century Brits, the book is hailed as a pivotal work in helping to shape what we now know as the English novel.

Swift’s 1729 essay A Modest Proposal is equally biting. At the time, its satirical suggestion that poor Irish people could sell their children as food to wealthy English landlords shocked readers. But the grim commentary highlights the author’s striking style, one that made him one of the most celebrated writers in English literature. In 1742, Swift suffered a stroke that left him unable to speak; he died three years later at age 77, but not before composing his own epitaph.