Oliver Goldsmith, Anglo-Irish writer, poet and dramatist, 1770.
© Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library
Engraving by Joseph Marchi after an oil painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) became famous through his esays and plays. He wrote a series of esays entitled 'The Citizen of the World, or, Letters from a Chinese Philosopher' which were published in 1762. Among his most famous other works are the poem 'The Deserted Village' published in 1770, the novel 'The Vicar of Wakefield' published in 1766, and the humorous play 'She Stoops to Conquer' published in 1773. The artist Sir Joshua Reynolds was one of Goldsmith's closest friends and painted this portrait in 1770. Goldsmith was known as Doctor Goldsmith as he had spent his early life studying medicine in Edinburgh.