Jonathan Swift

1667–1745 · Anglo-Irish (Dublin) · Early 18th Century, Age of Satire

Known for: Greatest satirist in the English language—Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift was a clergyman (Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin) who wielded satire like a weapon against political corruption, religious hypocrisy, and human folly. His Gulliver's Travels works simultaneously as a children's adventure and savage political allegory. His A Modest Proposal—suggesting the Irish eat their children to solve poverty—remains the supreme example of savage irony.

He had mysterious relationships with two women—Esther Johnson ('Stella') and Esther Vanhomrigh ('Vanessa')—whose exact nature remains debated. He suffered from Ménière's disease and possibly dementia in later life. He left his fortune to found a hospital for the mentally ill—Dublin's first.

Browse all 1,000 figures by category

Enable JavaScript to view the full "if they lived today" Q&A and personality profile.