Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift was an Irish writer, poet, and satirist born in Dublin on November 30, 1667. He was the second child and only son of Jonathan Swift and Abigail Erick. His father died when he was just a year old, and his mother struggled to provide for him and his sister. Swift was sent to live with his uncle, Godwin Swift, who paid for his education at Kilkenny College and Trinity College in Dublin. After graduating from Trinity College in 1688, Swift moved to England to work as a secretary for Sir William Temple. He spent ten years working for Temple, during which time he wrote some of his most famous works, including A Tale of a Tub and The Battle of the Books. In 1695, Swift was ordained as a priest in the Church of Ireland and became the vicar of Kilroot, near Belfast. Swift returned to England in 1700 and became involved in politics, working as a political pamphleteer and journalist. He wrote for the Tory party and became a close friend of Robert Harley, who later became the Earl of Oxford. Swift's most f