POPE

Alexander Pope (books by this author) was born in London on this day in 1688 — at exactly 6:45 p.m., as he later noted in his journal. He started a long poem when he was in his teens, and published it just before his 23rd birthday, called Essay on Criticism (1711). He made fun of some of the most established literary critics of his day, which led to all-out attacks on his writing, his Catholicism, and his personal appearance. However controversial it was, Essay on Criticism turned out to be one of the most-quoted poems in the English language, with lines like "A little learning is a dangerous thing," "To err is human, to forgive, divine," and "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."