Charles Dickens - a famous British author Name: Charles Dickens Birth date: Febrary 7th 1812 Place of birth: Portsmouth, England Occupation: Author Date of death: June 9th 1870 Place og death: Highham, England FACTSFACTS Life Charles Dickens was born Charles John Huffam Dickens on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth. He was the second of eight children. His father, John Dickens, worked in an office and dreamed of becoming rich. Charles Dickens mother, Elizabeth Barrow, worked as a teacher and school director. Despite his parents best efforts, the family remained poor. Nevertheless, they were happy in the early days. In 1816, they moved to Chatham, Kent, where Charles and his siblings got a lot of space. In 1822, the Dickens family moved to Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London. By then the familys financial situation had gotten very bad, as John Dickens had a dangerous habit of spending more money than the family had. John was sent to prison in 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old. Because of his father going to prison Charles was forced to leave school to work at a factory. Later Charles went back to school but was later forced to take a job in an office to help his family by earning money. After a period of working at the office Charles started to write and that was the beginning of his writing career. At the office he met Catherine Hogarth, whom he soon married. Catherine and Charles had 10 children before the couple separated in 1858. Dickens became very famous as a writer and earned a lot of money. He went to America a couple of times and also went to Italy for inspiration. Charles Dickens wrote many different things. One of his novels is still very popular. It is the story of a miserable and grumpy old man Ebenezer Schrooge who hates christmas. Death In 1865, Dickens was in a train accident and never fully recovered. On June 9, 1870, Dickens had a stroke and, at age 58, died at Gads Hill Place, his country home in Kent, England. He was buried in Poets Corner at Westminster Abbey, with thousands of mourners gathering at the beloved authors gravesite.