Edward Gibbon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edward Gibbon
Portrait, oil on canvas, of Edward Gibbon by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792)
Born	27 April 1737 Putney, Surrey
Died	16 January 1794(1794-01-16) (aged 56) London

Edward Gibbon (8 May 1737 – 16 January 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. The Decline and Fall is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open criticism of Christianity. He was educated at Westminster School. He died of peritonitis in London.

Images for kids

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  The Magdalen College, Oxford

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  Suzanne Curchod

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  Portchester Castle came under Gibbon's command for a brief period while he was an officer in the South Hampshire Militia.

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  Blue plaque to Gibbon on Bentinck Street, London

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  Gibbon's memorial tablet on the Sheffield Mausoleum in St Andrew & St Mary The Virgin's church in Fletching, East Sussex

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  Edward Gibbon, by Henry Walton