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George Bernard Shaw

Historical Figure

George Bernard Shaw

1856–1950

Irish playwright, critic, and polemicist (1856–1950)

Postwar

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Key Dates

Biography

George Bernard Shaw, known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Source: Wikipedia · Compiled March 2026 · AI-summarized

Timeline

1856
Birth

Irish playwright and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)

July 26 →
1913
Event

Am Wiener Burgtheater wird George Bernard Shaws Komödie Pygmalion uraufgeführt.

October 16 →
1926
Event

George Bernard Shaw refuses to accept the money for his Nobel Prize, saying, "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize."

November 18 →
1950
Death

Irish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1856)

November 2 →
1956
Event

Das Musical My Fair Lady von Frederick Loewe und Alan Jay Lerner nach dem Schauspiel Pygmalion von George Bernard Shaw wird mit Julie Andrews und Rex Harrison in den Hauptrollen im Mark Hellinger Theatre auf dem Broadway in New York uraufgeführt. Das Stück wird vom Publikum mit Begeisterung aufgenommen und bringt es in der Folge auf 2717 Aufführungen.

March 15 →

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