Oscar Wilde was born on the 16th of October 1854, in Dublin, to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane. His mother was an accomplished and successful poet and writer. Sir Wilde was Ireland's foremost ear and eye surgeon.
Oscar Wilde attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, Fermanagh from 1864 to 1871, and spent his summers, during those years, with his family in Waterford, Wexford as well as his father's family home in Mayo. Wilde continued his studies at Trinity College in Dublin from 1871 to 1874. While at Trinity, he received the Berkeley Gold Medal, the highest honor available to students of the classics. He continued his studies at Magdalen College at Oxford, where he attended with a scholarship. He attended Magdalen from 1874 to 1878 where he won the Oxford Newdigate Prize for his poem Ravenna, in 1878.
Wilde returned to Dublin after graduation from Magdalen. Soon after, he fell in love with Florence Balcome, who became engaged to Bram Stoker. After hearing the news, Wilde wrote to Florence, telling her of his intentions to leave Ireland permanently. He left in 1878 and only returned twice during his lifetime. Wilde spent the next six years in London, Paris and the United States. It was in London that he met Constance Lloyd. They met when he was lecturing at Gaiety Theater; Florence was visiting Dublin at the time. He proposed to her and they married on the 29th of May, 1884 in Paddington, London. They had two sons, Cyril who killed in France in World War I, and Vyvyan who went on to become an author and translator.
Oscar Wilde made his mark in the world of theater between the 1892 and 1895 with several highly popular plays. Before his theatrical success, however, he produced more than a few essays, including two major theoretical/literary dialogues, "The Decay of Lying" and "The Critics as Artist". His professional success was marred by his personal follies, however.
Oscar Wilde was known to have had bisexual proclivities, which eventually caused his downfall. He lost his wife, fortune, and was imprisoned, due to this very fact, for a part of his later years. Once released from prison he lived his last three years penniless. He died on the 30th of November, 1900.