Biography:Generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I.
He popularised the comedy of humours, and is best known for the satirical plays Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone, or The Foxe (1605), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fayre: A Comedy (1614).
1598-09-22 Playwright and poet Ben Jonson is arrested and jailed for manslaughter as the result of a duel where he killed actor Gabriel Spenser
1605-08-13 Controversial play "Eastward Hoe" by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston premieres at the Blackfriars Theatre, London, landing two of the authors in prison for offending the King James I [date approximate]
Quotes by Ben Jonson
"He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master."
Colley Cibber
David Mamet
John Van Druten
Alfred Tennyson
Archibald MacLeish
Pablo Neruda