On This Day

English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens (24) marries Catherine Thomson Hogarth (20)

Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.

Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at age 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father John was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years, he returned to school before beginning his literary career as a journalist.

Historical Significance

Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic.

Key People

Charles Dickens

writer and social critic

English writer and social critic

Events Before

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  2. Maria II of Portugal marries Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg

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  3. First installment of Hans Christian Andersen's "Fairy Tales" is published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark

    Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales,...

  4. Soldier and politician Jefferson Davis (27) weds Sarah Knox Taylor (21) in Louisville, Kentucky

    Soldier and politician Jefferson Davis (27) weds Sarah Knox Taylor (21) in Louisville, Kentucky

  5. Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson files for a patent for his screw propeller design

    Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson files for a patent for his screw propeller design

Events After

  1. Canada grants its Black citizens the right to vote

    Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the second-largest...

  2. German composer Felix Mendelssohn (27) weds French clergyman's daughter Cécile Jeanrenaud (20), until his death in 1847

    German composer Felix Mendelssohn (27) weds French clergyman's daughter Cécile Jeanrenaud (20), until his death in 1847

  3. Charles Goodyear obtains his first rubber patent

    Charles Goodyear obtains his first rubber patent

  4. Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands

    Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands

  5. Michigan admitted as 26th US state

    Michigan ( MISH-ig-ən) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on April 2, 1836?
Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius.
Why is English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens (24) marries Catherine Tho... significant?
Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic.
Who was involved in English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens (24) marries Catherine Tho...?
Key figures include Charles Dickens (writer and social critic).

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