Leslie Stephen

Born in London on November 28, 1832, Leslie Stephen was an English author, critic, historian, and biographer whose work ranged from essays on literature and philosophy to studies of eighteenth-century thought. He was educated at Eton, King’s College London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he later held a fellowship before turning fully toward writing and public intellectual life.

Stephen became one of the best-known literary figures of his time through his criticism, essays, and editorial work. He served as the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography, a major reference project that aimed to record the lives of notable figures from British history, and he also earned a reputation as an accomplished mountaineer as well as a man of letters.

He died in London on February 22, 1904. Today he is remembered both for his own wide-ranging writing and for his place in a remarkable literary family, which included his daughters Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.