William Makepeace Thackeray

INTJ - 7w8

Thackeray, an only child, was born in Calcutta, British India, where his father, Richmond Thackeray (1 September 1781 – 13 September 1815), was secretary to the Board of Revenue in the British East India Company. His mother, Anne Becher (1792–1864), was the second daughter of Harriet Becher and John Harman Becher, who was also a secretary (writer) for the East India Company. His father was a grandson of Thomas Thackeray (1693–1760), headmaster of Harrow School. Richmond died in 1816, which caused Anne to send her son to England that same year, while she remained in British India. The ship on which he travelled made a short stopover at Saint Helena, where the imprisoned Napoleon was pointed out to him. Thackeray then travelled for some time on the continent, visiting Paris and Weimar, where he met Goethe. They hailed him as the equal of Charles Dickens. Thackeray began as a satirist and parodist, writing works as The Luck of Barry Lyndon and Catherine.