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Tobias George Smollett was a Scottish author, surgeon, critic, and writer who was born on March 19, 1721, and died on September 17, 1771. His most famous works were the picaresque tales The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748), The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1751), and The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771). These books had an impact on later writers, such as Charles Dickens. Modern printers made many changes to his books, but Dr. O. M. Brack Jr. and others put together an official version of each one. Smollett was born in Dalquhurn, which is now part of Renton in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. He was baptized on March 19, 1721, which is three days before his birth date. Archibald Smollett of Bonhill was a judge, farmer, and laird of Bonhill. He lived at Dalquhurn on the River Leven and had four sons. Archibald Smollett died when Smollett was five years old, around 1726. The family lived there with his mother, Barbara Smollett née Cunningham, until she died around 1766. There was a brother named Captain James Smollett and a sister named Jean Smollett who married an Ayrshire man named Alexander Telfair. After her cousin and German boss, Mr. Commissary Smollett, died, Jean took over as Bonhill. In 1780, she went back to using her given name, Smollett.
