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John Gay

File:Unknown_man,_formerly_known_as_John_Gay.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ321660· pop 48· linked from 474 articles

Also known as Gay, John

English poet and playwright (1685–1732)

Person · Open Library

Born
1685-06-30
Died
1732-12-04
Works
290

Top works

  • [Fugitive pieces]
  • The poetical works of John Gay
  • The beggar's opera
  • Fables in two parts
  • The much admired air, Cease your funning

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Writing · Barnstaple, Devon, England, UK

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
United States
Active from
1685
Active to
1732
contemporary r&bfunkmotownpop soulprogressive soulrhythm & blues

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
822
Total plays
17,225

John Gay (30 June 1685 - 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household names. Gay was born in Barnstaple, England and was educated at the town's grammar school. On leaving school he was apprenticed to a silk mercer in London, but being weary, according to Samuel Johnson <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/John+Gay">Rea

via Last.fm · John Gay

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

  1. Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple

    · 1996 · cited 204,552x

  2. Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold

    · 2021 · cited 43,600x

  3. Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology

    · 2000 · cited 36,901x

  4. Matplotlib: A 2D Graphics Environment

    · 2007 · cited 35,568x

  5. The MOS 36-ltem Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)

    · 1992 · cited 29,128x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

  • 'Twas when the seas were roaring With hollow blasts of wind, A damsel lay deploring, All on a rock reclined.
  • So comes a reckoning when the banquet's o'er,— The dreadful reckoning, and men smile no more.
  • My lodging is on the cold ground, And hard, very hard, is my fare, But that which grieves me more Is the coldness of my dear.
  • No retreat. No retreat. They must conquer or die who’ve no retreat.
  • Life is a jest; and all things show it. I thought so once; and now I know it.
  • All in the Downs the fleet was moor'd.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Born
( 1685-06-30 ) 30 June 1685, Barnstaple , Devon , England
Died
4 December 1732 (1732-12-04) (aged 47), London , England
Known for
Poetry , drama , ballad opera
Notable work
The Beggar's Opera
Patrons
William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath ; The third Earl of Burlington; Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry ; Prince William, Duke of Cumberland

via Wikipedia infobox

Works in European collections

22 objects attributed to John Gay, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household names.

Early life

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Gay” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)