Bram Stoker

Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish writer, barrister, and theatre manager. He was the author of Dracula (1897) and the creator of the fictional character Count Dracula. The novel and its antagonist are milestones in the fields of Gothic and vampire literature.

Stoker was the third of seven children and was bedridden for the first seven years of his life with an undiagnosed illness. He received his initial education at home, before enrolling at Trinity College Dublin in 1864. He excelled as a rugby athlete and was a prominent member of both the university's student union and the philosophical society. It was also during this period that Stoker was introduced to literature, becoming the auditor of the society and writing his first paper.