Lewis Carroll Writer - Born 27 January 1832 Daresbury, Cheshire, England, UK

Died 14 January 1898 in Guildford, Surrey, England, UK (pneumonia)

Birth Name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

Height 6' (1.83 m)

Mini Bio (1) Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles L. Dodgson, author of the children's classics "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass."

Born on January 27, 1832 in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, Charles Dodgson wrote and created games as a child. At age 20 he received a studentship at Christ Church and was appointed a lecturer in mathematics. Dodgson was shy but enjoyed creating stories for children. His books including "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" were published under the pen name Lewis Carroll. Dodgson died in 1898.

Early Life Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, best known by his pseudonym, Lewis Carroll, was born in the village of Daresbury, England, on January 27, 1832. The eldest boy in a family of 11 children, Carroll was rather adept at entertaining himself and his siblings. His father, a clergyman, raised them in the rectory. As a boy, Carroll excelled in mathematics and won many academic prizes. At age 20, he was awarded a studentship (called a scholarship in other colleges) to Christ College. Apart from serving as a lecturer in mathematics, he was an avid photographer and wrote essays, political pamphlets and poetry. "The Hunting of the Snark" displays his wonderful ability in the genre of literary nonsense.

Alice and Literary Success Carroll suffered from a bad stammer, but he found himself vocally fluent when speaking with children. The relationships he had with young people in his adult years are of great interest, as they undoubtedly inspired his best-known writings and have been a point of disturbed speculation over the years. Carroll loved to entertain children, and it was Alice, the daughter of Henry George Liddell, who can be credited with his pinnacle inspiration. Alice Liddell remembers spending many hours with Carroll, sitting on his couch while he told fantastic tales of dream worlds. During an afternoon picnic with Alice and her two sisters, Carroll told the first iteration of what would later become Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. When Alice arrived home, she exclaimed that he must write the story down for her.

He fulfilled the small girl's request, and through a series of coincidences, the story fell into the hands of the novelist Henry Kingsley, who urged Carroll to publish it. The book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was released in 1865. It gained steady popularity, and as a result, Carroll wrote the sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871). By the time of his death, Alice had become the most popular children's book in England, and by 1932 it was one of the most popular in the world.

Photography and Legacy besides writing, Carroll created a number of fine photographs. His notable portraits include those of the actress Ellen Terry and the poet Alfred Tennyson. He also photographed children in every possible costume and situation, eventually making nude studies of them. Despite conjecture, little real evidence of child abuse can be brought against him. Shortly before his 66th birthday, Lewis Carroll caught a severe case of influenza, which led to pneumonia. He died on January 14, 1898, leaving an enigma behind him.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christophe J Rattley

Dodgson was a mathematics lecturer and author of mathematics books at Oxford University (1855-81) who is better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.

Appears on sleeve of The Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club" album.

Created "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" as a diversion for Alice Liddell, the second daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church.

Was by nature shy and withdrawn.

His novel Alice in Wonderland is an influence on author Neil Gaiman, e.g. in Gaiman's novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, he likens a crescent moon to a grin, like the Cheshire Cat.

Wrote the riddle "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" from "Alice in Wonderland" as nonsense - it has no answer. This has not stopped people, despite being repeatedly told that there is not, nor should there be, any answer, from trying to contrive one. Among the suggestions are, "Because Edgar Allan Poe wrote on both" and "Because the notes for which they are noted are not noted for being musical notes" (the second of which is very similar to a solution that Carroll himself wearily suggested when he grew tired of people asking him about it).

It's thought Alice in Wonderland sold so well at the time it was written was because when reality was too grim to deal with, people could escape into fantasy like this.

Personal Quotes (1)

Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.