Goldsmith's birth date and year are not known with certainty. According to the Library of Congress authority file, he told a biographer that he was born on 10 November 1728. The … See more

Goldsmith's premature death in 1774 may have been partly due to his own misdiagnosis of a kidney infection. He was buried in Temple Church in London. The inscription reads; "HERE LIES/OLIVER GOLDSMITH". A monument was originally raised for him at … See more

His life was dramatised in the 1940 Australian radio play A Citizen of the World.
Two characters in … See more

He settled in London in 1756, where he briefly held various jobs, including an apothecary's assistant and an usher of a school. Perennially in … See more

In his Life, Washington Irving states that Goldsmith was between 5'4" and 5'6" in height, not heavily built but quite muscular and with rather plain features. In character, he had a lively sense … See more

Among his papers was found the prospectus of an encyclopedia, to be called the Universal dictionary of the arts and sciences. He … See more

• Austin Dobson, Henry (Editor) The Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, ISBN 1-58827-277-X
• Campbell, … See more