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“Lewis Carroll” was the not-so-secret pen name of mathematician and reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Born in Daresbury, England in 1832 to an Anglican clergyman, Dodgson was the third child and eldest son of eleven siblings. He was highly protective of his siblings, especially his sisters, and he loved to entertain all of them with his own stories.

Dodgson attended Oxford University’s College of Christ Church, where he became a “senior student” – similar to a fellow – in 1958. He lived at the college, unmarried, until his death in 1898. He was also ordained as a dean in 1861; the college had a rule that deacons must enter the priesthood, but Dodgson somehow got around this rule – perhaps due to his friendship with the college’s dean and his family. At Oxford, he was a mathematics professor, and he wrote a number of mathematics books under his real name. Unfortunately, according to some accounts, he was not the most engaging lecturer…

In a move typical of many Victorian bachelors, Dodgson became an uncle figure to many of his friends’ children. In particular, he became good friends with the Liddell family and their children, when Henry Liddell was appointed Dean of Christ Church – it was Alice Liddell who was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland.

In July of 1862, Dodgson took the three Liddell sisters boating and told them the story that would become the timeless tale. Alice, happy that the protagonist shared her name, insisted that he write the story down. For reasons unknown, roughly a year after this boat ride, Dodgson’s relationship with the Liddell’s became strained. It was eventually healed, but he never again took the daughters out on picnics.

The initial manuscript was titled Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, but when it was published in 1865, it was given the name Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The novel quickly became famous. As it was an open secret that Dodgson was Carroll, he quickly garnered a fan base of children and parents. In fact, he became famous enough that he was invited to entertain Queen Victoria’s two grandchildren. By the time of his death, Alice was the most popular children’s book in England.

The public view of Dodgson was as a “child-loving saint”, but there were many discussions about his relationships with children, especially girls. In contrast, his many friendships with adult women were rarely discussed. He was also a photographer, adopting it when it was still a very new pastime. He found success in this hobby, and his favourite subjects were children. He often took nude images of them; interestingly, this was relatively common in the Victorian era. Dodgson was clear that he only took the pictures with permission from the children’s mothers, and if the children were also comfortable. Nevertheless, this hobby of Dodgson raised some eyebrows.

Charles Dodgson passed away on January 14th, 1898 of pneumonia.

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