Thomas De Quincey

Famous for: English writer best known for his autobiographical work, "Confessions of an English Opium-Eater" (1821), considered a pioneering work in addiction literature [Wikipedia].Lived: 1785-1859 [Wikipedia].Other works: literary criticism, essays (like the acclaimed "On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth"), poetry, and reviews [Wikipedia].Interesting fact: De Quincey was a close friend of the Romantic poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge [Britannica]. He even lived in Wordsworth's former home for a period [Historic UK]