Person    | Male  Born 1798  Died 20/4/1836

Robert Seymour

Categories: Art, Tragedy

Illustrator. Born Somerset. In November 1835 Seymour, a successful illustrator, aged 38, known for comic sporting prints suggested to the publishers Chapman and Hall a project, a series of illustrations about a Cockney sporting club. For the text they brought in 24 year old Dickens, who took over the whole project, possibly in a rather over-bearing way. 'Pickwick Papers' was the result, his first big success.

Seymour was a long term depressive, with previous suicide attempts. On the day before he died he seems to have had an argument with Dickens concerning an illustration. Seymour shot himself in the summer-house behind his home in Liverpool Road, Islington.

Seymour's widow, and then later his son, ensured that people knew the circumstances of his death and questioned the attribution of the success of Pickwick's Papers to Dickens.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Robert Seymour

Commemorated ati

Robert Seymour

A nearby information board informs: Probably the most prolific illustrator a...

Read More

Other Subjects

Renate Keeping

Renate Keeping

Artist. Born Renate Hannah Meyer in Berlin. Her family came as refugees to Britain in 1933. She married fellow artist Charles Keeping.

Person, Art, Germany

1 memorial
William Brett
1 memorial
David Hockney

David Hockney

Artist.  Born Bradford.  Lived in California for many years.  Passionately anti-anti-smoking, like fellow artist Maggie Hambling.

Person, Art, Seriously Famous, USA

2 memorials
Carrie Reichardt

Carrie Reichardt

Artist active in 2020 with a number of long-running projects, and involved in a number of campaigns. She is a long-time campaigner against the death penalty and communicated with Herman Wallace for...

Person, Art

24 memorials
W. H. C. Groome

W. H. C. Groome

Member of the Ealing District Council in 1899. Bear Alley has a full biography of Groome by Robert J Kirkpatrick, with many illustrations: ""W.H.C. Groome was one of the most prolific children’s b...

Person, Art, Politics & Administration

1 memorial

Previously viewed

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham

English statesman. Appointed Lord High Admiral in 1619. Favourite (possibly more) of King James I of England and then of Charles I but so unpopular with others that he was assassinated/murdered, le...

Person, Politics & Administration

4 memorials
Ping Pong

Ping Pong

Sport. Also known as gossima, indoor tennis, table tennis, wiff-waff or whiff-whaff. The John Jaques and Son Company were producing equipment in the 1890s, and patented the game in 1901.  Its origi...

Event, Sport / Games

1 memorial
W. Bryer & Sons

W. Bryer & Sons

Gold refiners and assayers who occupied 53 and 54 Barbican. One of the few buildings in the area to survive the incendiary bombing in December 1940, it was demolished in 1962. In 2009 Yellow Page...

Group, Commerce

1 memorial
Robert J. Halligan

Robert J. Halligan

United Kingdom citizen who died in the terrorist attacks in America on 11 September 2001. Robert John Halligan was born on 11 June 1942 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. He was a son of William John H...

Person, Tragedy, USA

1 memorial
S. Bird
War dead, WW1
1 memorial