Profile of the Day: W.B. Yeats
Do you have Irish ancestors? On this day in 1865, Irish poet W.B. Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland.
Image: W.B. Yeats / Library of Congress
William Butler Yeats was the son of John Butler Yeats, a lawyer and portrait painter, and Susan Mary Pollexfen, whose wealthy merchant family owned a milling and shipping business. His father was not the only artist of the family. His brother Jack became a well-known artist and Olympic medalist, while his sisters, Elizabeth and Susan May, became involved with the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe.
Considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Yeats was the first Irishman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. In his later years, Yeats became more involved in politics and even served as an Irish Senator for two terms.
On January 28, 1939, Yeats died in Menton, France at the age of 73.
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