ON OCTOBER 16, 1854, Irish poet and playwright Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born to Anglo-Irish couple Jane, née Elgee and Sir William Wilde at 21 Westland Row, Dublin.
His 46 years on this Earth were full of just as much wit, comedy and drama as his enduringly popular plays and novels, with classics like The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray still enjoyed by readers today.
Wilde enduring his fair share of difficulties too. During his lifetime, he was put on trial for being gay, while he also died tragically, of meningitis while living in Paris.
Despite such difficulties, Wilde retained his razor-sharp wit. A wit that is fondly remembered to this day. Here are just a few of his most memorable quips.
1. "Work is the curse of the drinking classes"
2. "A cynic is man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing"
3. "I can resist everything except temptation"
4. "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about"
5. "Be yourself; everyone else is taken"
circa 1884: Irish playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), author of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)