George Bernard Shaw

Born in Dublin in 1856, George Bernard Shaw rejected formal schooling for self-education before moving to London in 1876. A staunch socialist and Fabian Society member, he began his career as a theater critic before transitioning to playwriting. Over a six-decade career, Shaw authored over sixty plays, including Arms and the Man, Major Barbara and Pygmalion. Renowned for his biting wit and sharp critiques of Victorian class and hypocrisy, he became second only to Shakespeare in English drama. Shaw uniquely earned both a Nobel Prize in Literature (1925) and an Academy Award (1938) before his death in 1950.