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Oscar Wilde's childhood sweetheart Florence Balcombe married Bram Stoker in 1878, disappointing Oscar because he cherished their two-year romance and hoped that it would continue.
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In 1878 Oscar Wilde won the Newdigate Prize for best English verse composition by an Oxford undergraduate for his poem "Ravenna".
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Following the publication of his book Poems in 1881, Oscar Wilde went on an American lecture tour where he gave 140 lectures in only nine months.
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While touring in American Oscar Wilde met many famous literary figures of the time including Walt Whitman, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Henry Longfellow.
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Oscar Wilde returned to the UK and continued a lecture tour through England and Ireland, ending in 1884.
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Oscar Wilde's poetry was written to emphasize the pursuit of beauty for beauty's sake as opposed to the promotion of a social or political viewpoint.
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In 1884 Oscar Wilde married Constance Lloyd. They had two boys, Cyril and Vyvyan.
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Oscar Wilde worked as the editor at Lady's World, a women's magazine, for two years and expanded its coverage to include women's issues and not just fashion. His efforts revitalized the magazine.
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In 1888 Oscar Wilde's book The Happy Prince and Other Tales was published. It was a collection of children's stories.
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In 1891 Oscar Wilde published two books, an essay collection titled Intentions, and his one and only novel titled The Picture of Dorian Gray.
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In 1892 a play written by Oscar Wilde opened called Lady Windemere's Fan. Its success encouraged Oscar t focus on writing plays for the next few years.
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Oscar Wilde then wrote the plays A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and the most famous play of his career in 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest.
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Due to an affair with the son of the Marquis of Queensberry, Oscar Wilde was convicted in 1895 of 'gross indecency' and sentenced to two years in jail.
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Following his prison term Oscar Wilde moved to France as a broke man. He wrote "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", a poem, which was the only notable work he completed during the last few years of his life.
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Oscar Wilde died on November 30th, 1900. He was only 46 years old, and died of meningitis.
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