April 6, 1895

On April 6th, 1895, the great writer, wit and dramatist Oscar Wilde was arrested after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensburry. Wilde, who had been intimately involved with the Marquess’ son Alfred Douglas, had sued the Marquess for libel after he had publicly accused Wilde of homosexuality, which was then considered a crime. After losing the suit, Wilde was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and hard labor, from which he never recovered. He based his work The Ballad of Reading Gaol on his time in prison.