British author William Makepeace Thackeray dies suddenly at his home in London, aged fifty-two

William Makepeace Thackeray, prolific novelist, editor, and lecturer, had been born in Calcutta, India on July 18,1811. The six foot three inch author was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge.  He completed his most famous work, Vanity Fair, which began serialized publication in January 1847.  Overweight and shy of exercise, his health deteriorated and he died suddenly of a stroke in his sleep, aged fifty-two, at his home in London.  He was buried at the Kensal Green Cemetery. (By John Osborne)