Forster, John (1812-04-02 - 1876-02-01)

John Forster was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1812. He attended Newcastle Grammar School and University College London, with subsequent studies at the Inner Temple. However, in 1832, he decided not to pursue a career in law in favour of journalism. He counted Charles Lamb, Thomas Carlyle, Robert Browning, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Leigh Hunt amongst his literary friends. He was editor of The Examiner from 1847 until 1855. He is best remembered as the author of the first biography of his close friend, Charles Dickens. His vast library of over 18,000 books and pamphlets, in addition to his collection of Dickens's manuscripts, was bequeathed to his wife. They were then left to the Victoria & Albert Museum (formerly the South Kensington Museum).