Born: 7 February 1812 · Died: 9 June 1870 · Age at death: 58
How old was Charles Dickens when he died?
Charles Dickens died aged 58. He was born on 7 February 1812 and died on 9 June 1870.
Victorian novelist who created Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol, exposing poverty and injustice
Did you know?He kept a pet raven named Grip, which he eventually had stuffed after it died.
Quick facts
Date of birth7 February 1812
Date of death9 June 1870
Age at death58
Cause of deathCerebral hemorrhage
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceLandport, United Kingdom
Occupationwriter, novelist, journalist
Editor's Take:
Dickens was the first true celebrity novelist, and he wrote for a mass audience in a way no one had before. Most of his novels came out in monthly instalments, so readers followed his characters like fans of a television series, waiting anxiously for the next episode. His own childhood experience of working in a factory while his father was in debtors' prison gave him a lifelong anger at poverty and injustice. Characters like Scrooge, Oliver Twist and Fagin became part of everyday language. He also helped shape the modern idea of Christmas as a time of family, generosity and goodwill.
Key Milestones
1836: The Pickwick Papers makes his name
1838: Publishes Oliver Twist
1843: Publishes A Christmas Carol
1850: Publishes David Copperfield
1859: Publishes A Tale of Two Cities
1861: Publishes Great Expectations
Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and journalist. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.
Charles Dickens was born in Landport on 7 February 1812.
He worked in a blacking factory at the age of 12.
He wrote Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations.
He died at Gad's Hill Place in 1870.
Career highlights
1836The Pickwick Papers: serialised
1838Oliver Twist: published
1843A Christmas Carol: published
1850David Copperfield: completed
1861Great Expectations: published
Did you know?He is buried in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey.
Age at death
58
Years since death
156
Family
Father
John Dickens
Mother
Elizabeth Dickens
Spouse
Catherine Dickens
Children
Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens, Charles Dickens, Jr., Dora Annie Dickens, Edward Dickens, Francis Dickens, Henry Fielding Dickens, Kate Perugini, Mary Dickens, Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens, Walter Landor Dickens
