Chesterton came from a middle class family, his father worked for an estate and auctioneer house. Gilbert attended St Paul’s School before entering the University College of London. He took classes in both illustration and literature but failed to get a degree in either. He dropped out and began to work for a publishing company. He stayed with this job until 1902 when he got his own weekly opinion column. He would continue to write this column for the “Daily News” and “The Illustrated London News” for the next thirty years.

During his life he would write more than 80 books, 4000 essays and several plays. He would become friends with some of the most creative literary minds of the time. He was a well known friend of both Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. It was also known that Gilbert had a tendency to be become distracted and would often miss appointments or take the wrong train.

In 1901 Gilbert married Frances Blogg to whom he would stay married until his death on June 14th 1936.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton