Daniel Defoe

c. 1660 – 24 April 1731

Daniel Defoe (c. 1660-1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, and pamphleteer, best remembered for the novel Robinson Crusoe, one of the founding works of the English novel. A prolific and versatile author, he also wrote Moll Flanders, A Journal of the Plague Year, and hundreds of political tracts.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Daniel Defoe.

Life events

Born in London
c. 1660

Daniel Defoe was born around 1660 in London, the son of James Foe, a tallow chandler; the exact date and year of his birth are uncertain.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Educated at a dissenting academy in Newington Green
c. 1674

As a Presbyterian dissenter barred from Oxford and Cambridge, Defoe was educated at Charles Morton's academy at Newington Green.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Married Mary Tuffley
1 January 1684

On 1 January 1684 Defoe married Mary Tuffley, who brought a substantial dowry; the couple had eight children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Established himself as a merchant and went bankrupt
1692

Defoe traded in hosiery, wine, and other goods, but risky ventures left him bankrupt in 1692 with debts of around 17,000 pounds.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Pilloried and imprisoned for The Shortest Way with the Dissenters
July 1703

In July 1703 Defoe was placed in the pillory and jailed in Newgate for his ironic pamphlet satirizing High Church extremism, before being released through the intervention of Robert Harley.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Other ✓
Founded and wrote the periodical The Review
1704 – 1713

From 1704 to 1713 Defoe almost single-handedly wrote The Review, a pioneering political journal produced while he also worked as a government agent and pamphleteer.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Published Robinson Crusoe
25 April 1719

Robinson Crusoe was published on 25 April 1719 and became an immediate bestseller, often cited as the first English novel.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Published Moll Flanders and A Journal of the Plague Year
1722

In 1722 Defoe published two of his most enduring works of fiction, Moll Flanders and A Journal of the Plague Year.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died in London
24 April 1731

Defoe died on 24 April 1731, probably while hiding from creditors, and was buried in Bunhill Fields, London.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓