Chronology
1690 At the advice of his doctors, Swift leaves Temple and
returns to Ireland.
1691 Swift, back with Temple in England, visits Oxford.
1692 Temple enables Swift to receive an M. A. degree from
Oxford, and Swift publishes first poem "Ode to the Athenian
Society"
1693 Swift leaves Temple's household and returns to Ireland
to take holy orders.
1695 Swift ordained as a priest in the Church of
Ireland, the Irish branch of the Anglican Church
1696-1699 Swift returns to Moor Park, and composes most
of A Tale
of a Tub, his first great work. In 1699 Temple
dies, and Swift travels to Ireland as chaplain and secretary
to
the Earl of Berkeley.
1700 Swift instituted Vicar of Laracor, and presented to the
Prebend
of Dunlavin in St.
Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
1701 Swift awarded D. D. from Dublin University, and
publishes his
first political pamphlet,
supporting the Whigs against the Tories.
1704 Anonymous publication of Swift's “A Tale of a
Tub”, “The Battle
of the Books”, and
“The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit”.
1707 Swift in London as emissary of Irish clergy seeking
remission
of tax on Irish clerical
incomes. His requests are rejected by the Whig
government. He meets Esther
Vanhomrigh, who will become his "Vanessa." During the
next few years he is back and
forth between Ireland and England, where he is involved
in the highest political circles.
1708 Swift meets Addison and Steele, and publishes
the “Bickerstaff
Papers” and “An
Argument Against Abolishing Christianity”.
1709 Swift writes the poem "A Description of the
Morning"
1710 Swift returns to England. He publishes "A
Description of a
City Shower." Swift falls out
with Whigs, allies himself with the Tories, and becomes
editor of the Tory newspaper
The Examiner. Swift writes the series of letters which
will be published as The Journal
to Stella and “The Examiner”
1712 Swift writes "A Proposal for Correcting, Improving
and
Ascertaining the English
Tongue"
1713 Swift installed as Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral
in
Dublin. He writes "On the Conduct
of the Allies" and "Hints Toward an Essay on
Conversation". Also, he writes the poem
"Cadenus and Vanessa"
1714 Foundation of Scriblerus Club. Queen Anne dies,
George I
takes the throne, the Tories
fall from power, and Swift's hopes for preferment in
England come to an end: he returns
to Ireland "to die," as he says, "like a poisoned rat in
a hole."
1715 Swift marries Stella (Esther Johnson).
1716 Swift begins to publish tracts on Irish
problems.
1718 Swift writes the poem "Phillis, or, the Progress of
Love"
and "The Progress of Beauty"
1720 Swift begins work upon “Gulliver's Travels”, intended,
as he
says in a letter to Pope, "to
vex the world, not to divert it." Also, he writes the
poem "The Progress of Poetry"
1721 "A Letter of Advice to a Young Poet"
1722 Swift writes "A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late
Famous
General"
1723 Publication of “The Drapier Letters”, which gain him
enormous
1725 popularity in
Ireland. “Gulliver’s Travels” completed.
1724 "To Quilca, a Country House not in Good Repair"
1726 Visit to England, where he visits with Pope at
Twickenham;
publication of “Gulliver's
Travels”.
1727 Swift's Last trip to England.
1727-1736 He publishes five volumes of Swift-Pope
Miscellanies.
1728 Death of Stella.
1729 Publication of Swift's “A Modest Proposal”.
1731 Publication of Swift's "A Beautiful Young Nymph Going
to
Bed," "The Place of the
Damn'd", “Strephon and Chloe","Helter
Skelter", "Cassinus and Peter: A Tragical
Elegy", “The Day of Judgment", "Verses on the Death of
Dr. Swift, D.S.P.D."
1732 “An Epistle To A Lady", "The Beasts' Confession to the
Priest", "The Lady's Dressing
Room"
1733 "On Poetry: A Rhapsody"
1735 Collected edition of Swift's Works published in
Dublin;
Swift is suffering from
Meniere's Disease, resulting in periods of dizziness
and nausea, and his memory is
deteriorating.
1738 Swift slips gradually into senility, and suffers
a
paralytic stroke.
1742 Guardians appointed to care for Swift's affairs.
1745 Swift dies on October 19. Jonathan Swift wrote his own
epitaph
and William Butler Yeats translated from the Latin as:
Hic depositum est Corpus
JONATHAN SWIFT S.T.D.
Huyus Ecclesiæ Cathedralis
Decani,
Ubi sæva Indignatio
Ulterius
Cor lacerare nequit,
Abi Viator
Et imitare, si poteris,
Strenuum pro virili
Libertatis Vindicatorem.
Obiit 19 Die Mensis Octobris
A.D. 1745 Anno Ætatis 78.
Swift has sailed into his rest.
Savage indignation there
Cannot lacerate his breast.
Imitate him if you dare,
world-besotted traveller.
He served human liberty.
In this part of the paper I have used the following links:
www.vic torianweb.org/previctorian/swift/chron.html
www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/chron.html - 50k
ww w.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/swift/dates.htm
swift.classicauthors.net/ - 12k
www.swiftiana.com/stella/?q=node/546 - 19k
www.uv.es/~fores/jscro1.html - 11k