Tom Stoppard
Sign in to saveAlso known as Sir Tom Stoppard OM CBE, Tomáš Sträussler
Sir Tom Stoppard was a British playwright and screenwriter. He wrote for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covered the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom, often delving into the deeper philosophical bases of society. Stoppard, a playwright of the Royal National Theatre, was one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation and was critically compared with William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He was knighted for his contribution to theatre in 1997 and awarded the Order of Merit in 2000.
OverviewAI-generated
Tom Stoppard (1937–2025) was a British playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and film director. Born in Zlín, he held citizenship in both Czechoslovakia and the United Kingdom. His career began in 1964, and he wrote in English, a language he shared with Czech. Stoppard was influenced by Henry James and worked within the comedy drama genre. He was the father of Ed Stoppard and the unmarried partner of Felicity Kendal.
Stoppard received numerous honors, including the Laurence Olivier Awards, the PEN Pinter Prize, the Praemium Imperiale, and the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of Literature, and the Writers Guild of America West. His work has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, the Tony Award for Best Play, and various European Film Awards. Notable works include *Arcadia*, *Parade's End*, *Exposed*, *On the razzle*, and *Rozenḳrantz ṿe-Gildenśṭern metim*.
Synthesized by Vinony from 32 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 3 July 1937
- Died
- 29 November 2025
- Works
- 112
Top works
- Rozenḳrantz ṿe-Gildenśṭern metim
- On the razzle
- Parade'S End
- Arcadia
- Exposed
via Open Library + Wikidata
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Active from
- 1937
- Active to
- 2025
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Wikipedia views (30d)
32,889 totalvia Wikimedia Pageviews API
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Sir Tom Stoppard (/ˈstɒpərd/; born Tomáš Sträussler; 3 July 1937 – 29 November 2025) was a British playwright and screenwriter. He wrote for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covered the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom, often delving into the deeper philosophical bases of society. Stoppard, a playwright of the Royal National Theatre, was one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation and was critically compared with William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He was knighted for his contribution to theatre in 1997 and awarded the Order of Merit in 2000.
Born in Czechoslovakia, Stoppard left as a Jewish child refugee, fleeing imminent Nazi occupation. He spent three years at a boarding school in Darjeeling in the Indian Himalayas, then settled with his family in England after the war, in 1946. After being educated at schools in Nottingham and Yorkshire, Stoppard became a journalist, a drama critic and then, in 1960, a playwright.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Tom Stoppard” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.