WRITER

John Gay

1685 - 1732

Photo of John Gay

Icon of person John Gay

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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of John Gay has received more than 645,838 page views. His biography is available in 31 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). John Gay is the 1,537th most popular writer (up from 1,693rd in 2019), the 1,180th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 1,340th in 2019) and the 134th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 650k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 58.28

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 31

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.22

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.10

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Beggar's opera
Ballad operas, Brigands and robbers, Drama
1728
Acis and Galatea
1732
The what d'ye call it
1715
Intermediate algebra
Problems, exercises, Algebra, Textbooks
1993
The Beggar's Opera
Drama, Fiction, Classic Literature
The Beggar's Opera is the only ballad opera that is still popularly performed today. A ballad opera is a satirical musical, which uses the form of an opera but incorporates popular songs and ballads as well as operatic numbers. The Beggar's Opera satirizes the corruption to be found in all levels of society. Its immense popularity provided funds for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, to be built and also catapulted its leading lady to fame. It has continued to be performed ever since its premier in 1728.
1998
Fables
Accessible book, Early works to 1800, English Fables
1727

Among WRITERS

Among writers, John Gay ranks 1,537 out of 7,302. Before him are Rainis, Adolph Freiherr Knigge, Asconius Pedianus, Andal, Kuvempu, and Giovannino Guareschi. After him are Adnan Oktar, Fritz Gerlich, Corax of Syracuse, Jerzy Kosiński, Ödön von Horváth, and Kim Bu-sik.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1685, John Gay ranks 11. Before him are Domenico Scarlatti, Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, Brook Taylor, Jean-Marc Nattier, Johann Maria Farina, and Edward England. After him are Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Farrukhsiyar, Bartolomeu de Gusmão, Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, William Kent, and Francesco Loredan. Among people deceased in 1732, John Gay ranks 6. Before him are Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, Emperor Reigen, Woodes Rogers, Louis Marchand, and André Charles Boulle. After him are Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Durlach, Joseph Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein, Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg, Theodore Eustace, Count Palatine of Sulzbach, Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, and Marie Thérèse de Bourbon.

Others Born in 1685

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Others Deceased in 1732

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, John Gay ranks 1,180 out of 8,785. Before him are Robert Hardy (1925), Glenda Jackson (1936), Sarah Brightman (1960), J. B. S. Haldane (1892), Stephen Fry (1957), and Marc Bolan (1947). After him are William Sturgeon (1783), Emily Blunt (1983), Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813), Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (1864), John Fisher (1469), and Max Mosley (1940).

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, John Gay ranks 134. Before him are Elizabeth Siddal (1829), Vita Sackville-West (1892), Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689), Allen Carr (1934), Lord Alfred Douglas (1870), and Evelyn Waugh (1903). After him are Michael Moorcock (1939), Hugh Lofting (1886), Sister Nivedita (1867), Alistair MacLean (1922), Ruth Rendell (1930), and Alasdair Gray (1934).

British born Writers

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