Grave of Daniel Defoe - Bunhill Fields - London, England - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

THE MAN:

Daniel Foe was born around 1660 or 1661 to a working class family. His robust life eventually led him from business to writing and he formally adopted the surname DeFoe (also De-Foe and later Defoe) by which he is known to the world.

Always controversial and in debt, Defoe was in and out of favor, prisons, and even spent three days in the public pillory for his opinionated writing. The probably fabulous story was circulated that people threw flowers at him instead of the usual obnoxious and dangerous items due to his public popularity. Even when successful in his businesses and adventures, he seemed always to be in debt, probably to the day he died.

It was his account of the great storm of 1703 claiming 8,000 lives, that set the standard for journalism. It was not until about age 59 in the year 1719 that he put together the novel that would mark his fame in literary history. Robinson Crusoe was a great success and so was followed with other novels such as Captain Singleton, Colonel Jack, Moll Flanders and his last novel Roxanna.

Part of Defoe's notoriety stemmed from the fact that he was a dissenter, a nonconformist rejecting the Church of England. This kept him out of favor depending on the current regime and whims of parliament.

THE MEMORIAL:

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When he died in 1731 he was interred in the historic Bunhill Fields Burial Ground with other nonconformists including poet William Blake and John Bunyan, author of the classic religious allegory Pilgrim's Progress. In 1870 a public appeal raised funds to erect the memorial that now stands at the place of his grave in Bunhill Fields.

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SOURCES

Luminarium: Daniel Defoe
Biography.com: Daniel Defoe
Wikipedia: Daniel Defoe
Brooklyn College English Department: Daniel Defoe

Description: See detailed description above. Date of birth: 01/01/1660 Date of death: 04/24/1731 Area of notoriety: Literature Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: 8:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m. weekdays, to 7:00 p.m weekends Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   04/15/2013 Master Mariner visited it