- At 22, he mentored a girl, Esther "Stella" Johnson, which was rare for the time because girls rarely received educations.
- His father died when he was rather young and his mother couldn't provide for him so he was send to live with his uncle, where he received an education
- It's believed that Swift married Stella when he was rather old but the marriage was not announced for unknown reasons.
- Later in his life Swift developed Meniere's Disease, which affects the inner ear and causes hearing loss among other things.
- Although Swift was born and spent a good part of his life in Ireland he considered himself an Englishman.
"Swift has a higher reputation than he deserves. His excellence in a strong sense; for his humour, though very well, is not remarkably good. I doubt whether The Tale of Tub be his; for he never owned it, and it is much above his worldly manner."
-Samuel Johnson, in James Boswell, Life of Johnson (1791)
"When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in confederacy against him"
-Jonathan Swift
Merriman, C.D. "Jonathan Swift." - Biography and Works. Jalic Inc., 2008. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
