Swift, Jonathan

The Anglo-Irish author and satirist Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland. His cousin was the English poet and playwright John Dryden. Swift attended Trinity College, Dublin, and in 1689 he became secretary to the distinguished diplomat Sir William Temple. He received his Master of Arts from Hart Hall, Oxford, in 1692 and was then ordained for the priesthood in the Church of Ireland. When Temple died in 1699, Swift was able to secure a living ministering to a small congregation near Dublin. He received his Doctor of Divinity from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1702 .