Shaw, George Bernard 
1856 - 1950. 
Irish dramatist. 

He was also a critic and novelist, and an early member of the socialist Fabian Society. His plays combine comedy with political, philosophical, and polemic aspects, aiming to make an impact on his audience's social conscience as well as their emotions. They include Arms and the Man 1894, Devil's Disciple 1897, Man and Superman 1903, Pygmalion 1913, and St Joan 1923. Nobel prize 1925. Born in Dublin, the son of a civil servant, Shaw went to London 1876, where he became a brilliant debater and supporter of the Fabians, and worked as a music and drama critic. He wrote five unsuccessful novels before his first play, Widowers' Houses, was privately produced 1892. Attacking slum landlords, it allied him with the realistic, political, and polemical movement in the theatre, pointing to people's responsibility to improve themselves and their social environment. His first public production was Arms and the Man, a cynical view of war. The volume Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant 1898 also included The Philanderer; Mrs Warren's Profession, dealing with prostitution and banned until 1902; and Arms and the Man. Three Plays for Puritans 1901 contained The Devil's Disciple, Caesar and Cleopatra (a companion piece to Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra), and Captain Brassbound's Conversion, written for the actress Ellen Terry. Man and Superman expounds his ideas of evolution by following the character of Don Juan into hell for a debate with the devil. The "anti-romantic" comedy Pygmalion, first performed 1913, was written for the actress Mrs Patrick Campbell (and after Shaw's death converted to a musical as My Fair Lady). Later plays included Heartbreak House 1920, Back to Methuselah 1922, and the historical St Joan. Altogether Shaw wrote more than 50 plays and became a byword for wit. His theories were further explained in the voluminous prefaces to the plays, and in books such as The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism 1928. He was also an unsuccessful advocate of spelling reform and a prolific letter-writer.