Scottish poet, dramatist and philanthropist Joanna Baillie was born precisely 256 years ago.
Celebrated in the latest Google Doodle, Baillie is best known for her theatrical sequence Plays on the Passions, an incredibly ambitious ten-work project dedicated to “unveiling the human mind under the dominion of those strong and fixed passions” through a series of astute female-led comedies and tragedies.
Joanna, the youngest of three siblings, was born in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, on 11 September 1762, daughter of the Reverend James Baillie, a Presbyterian minister whose family traced its roots back to the legendary Scottish warrior William Wallace, victor over the English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.
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Cornforth Google Doodle celebrating Sir John Cornforth Google 42/102 British Sign Language Google Doodle celebrating British Sign Language Google 43/102 Eduard Khil Google Doodle celebrating Eduard Khil Google 44/102 James Wong Howe Google Doodle celebrating James Wong Howe Google 45/102 Eiko Ishioka Google Doodle celebrating Eiko Ishioka Google 46/102 Eva Ekeblad Google Doodle celebrating Eva Ekeblad Google 47/102 Fourth of July Google Doodle celebrating Fourth of July Google 48/102 Wimbledon Championship Google Doodle celebrating Wimbledon Google 49/102 Victor Hugo Google Doodle celebrating Victor Hugo Google 50/102 Google Doodle celebrating Oskar Fischinger Google Doodle celebrating Oskar Fischinger Google 51/102 UK General Election 2017 Google celebrates the UK General Election Google 52/102 Zaha Hadid Google celebrates the acclaimed architect for becoming the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize on this day in 2004 Google 53/102 Richard Oakes Google Doodle celebrating Richard Oakes' 75 birthday Google 54/102 Google Doodle celebrating the Antikythera Mechanism Google Doodle celebrating the Antikythera Mechanism Google 55/102 Ferdinand Monoyer The famous French ophthalmologist, who invented the eye test, would have celebrated his 181st birthday today Google 56/102 Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google 57/102 Google Doodle celebrating Nasa's Cassini probe Google Doodle celebrating Nasa's Cassini probe Google 58/102 Google Doodle celebrating Fazlur Rahman Khan Google Doodle celebrating Fazlur Rahman Khan Google 59/102 Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google 60/102 Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google 61/102 Google Doodle celebrating Holi Festival Google Doodle celebrating Holi Festival Google 62/102 Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day 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International Woman's Day on 8 March 86/102 St David's Day 2016 Google marks St David's Day Google 87/102 Leap Year 2016 Google celebrates Leap Day on 28 February 2 Google 88/102 Lantern Festival 2016 Google celebrates the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a doodle of the Lantern Festival Google 89/102 Stethoscope Inventor, René Laennec Google celebrate's René Laennec's 235th birthday 90/102 Valentine's Day 2016 Google celebrates Valentine's Day with a romantic Doodle 91/102 Dmitri Mendeleev Google celebrate Dmitri Mendeleev's 182nd birthday 92/102 "The televisor" demonstartion Google Doodle celebrates 90 years since the first demonstration of television or "the televisor" to the public 93/102 Professor Scoville Google marks Professor Scoville’s 151st birthday 94/102 Sophie Taeuber-Arp Google marks Sophie Taeuber-Arp's 127th birthday 95/102 Charles Perrault Google celebrates author Charles Perrault's 388th birthday 96/102 Mountain of Butterflies discovery Google celebrates the 41st anniversary of the discovery of the Mountain of Butterflies 97/102 Winter Solstice 2015 Google celebrate the Winter Solstice 98/102 St Andrew's Day 2015 Google marks St Andrew's Day with doodle featuring Scotland's flag and Loch Ness monster 99/102 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy' Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago 100/102 George Boole Google marks George Boole's 200th birthday 101/102 Halloween 2015 Google celebrates Halloween using an interactive doodle game "Global Candy Cup" 102/102 Prague Astronomical Clock Google celebrates the 605th anniversary of the Prague Astronomical Clock, one of the oldest functioning timepieces in the world 1/102 Joanna Baillie Google Doodle celebrating Joanna Baillie Google 2/102 Labor Day 2018 Google Doodle celebrating Labor Day 2018 Google 3/102 Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google Doodle celebrating Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google 4/102 Mary G Ross Google Doodle celebrating Mary G Ross Google 5/102 Octavia E Butler Google Doodle celebrating Octavia E Butler Google 6/102 Dame Cicely Saunders Google Doodle celebrating Dame Cicely Saunders Google 7/102 Virginia Apgar Google Doodle celebrating Virginia Apgar Google 8/102 Tamara de Lempicka Google Doodle celebrating Tamara de Lempicka Google 9/102 Maria Reiche Google Doodle celebrating Maria Reiche Google 10/102 Georges Melies Google Doodle celebrating Georges Melies Google 11/102 Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google Doodle celebrating Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google 12/102 Fanny Blankers-Koen Google Doodle celebrating Fanny Blankers-Koen Google 13/102 Omar Sharif Google Doodle celebrating Omar Sharif Google 14/102 Maya Angelou Google Doodle celebrating Maya Angelou Google 15/102 John Harrison Google Doodle celebrating John Harrison Google 16/102 Hannah Glasse Google Doodle celebrating Hannah Glasse Google 17/102 Katsuko Saruhashi Google Doodle celebrating Katsuko Saruhashi Google 18/102 Guillermo Haro Google Doodle celebrating Guillermo Haro Google 19/102 Sir William Henry Perkin Google Doodle celebrating Sir William Henry Perkin Google 20/102 Gabriel Garcia Marquez Google Doodle celebrating Gabriel Garcia Marquez Google 21/102 Holi Google Doodle celebrating Holi Google 22/102 St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google 23/102 Carter G Woodson Google Doodle celebrating Carter G Woodson Google 24/102 Wilder Penfield Google Doodle celebrating Wilder Penfield Google 25/102 Virginia Woolf Google Doodle celebrating Virginia Woolf Google 26/102 Sergei Eisenstein Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Eisenstein Google 27/102 Winter Solstice Google Doodle celebrating Winter Solstice Google 28/102 St Andrew's Day Google Doodle celebrating St Andrew's Day Google 29/102 Gertrude Jekyll Google Doodle celebrating Gertrude Jekyll Google 30/102 Children's Day 2017 Google Doodle celebrating Children's Day 2017 Google 31/102 Cornelia Sorabji Google Doodle celebrating Cornelia Sorabji Google 32/102 Pad Thai Google Doodle celebrating Pad Thai Google 33/102 Jackie Forster Google Doodle celebrating Jackie Forster Google 34/102 Halloween 2017 Google Doodle celebrating Halloween 2017 Google 35/102 Studio for Electronic Music Google Doodle celebrating the Studio for Electronic Music Google 36/102 Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle celebrating Selena Quintanilla Google 37/102 Olaudah Equiano Google Doodle celebrating Olaudah Equiano Google 38/102 Fridtjof Nansen Google Doodle celebrating Fridtjof Nansen Google 39/102 Amalia Hernandez Google Doodle celebrating Amalia Hernandez Google 40/102 Dr Samuel Johnson Google Doodle celebrating Dr Samuel Johnson Google 41/102 Sir John Cornforth Google Doodle celebrating Sir John Cornforth Google 42/102 British Sign Language Google Doodle celebrating British Sign Language Google 43/102 Eduard Khil Google Doodle celebrating Eduard Khil Google 44/102 James Wong Howe Google Doodle celebrating James Wong Howe Google 45/102 Eiko Ishioka Google Doodle celebrating Eiko Ishioka Google 46/102 Eva Ekeblad Google Doodle celebrating Eva Ekeblad Google 47/102 Fourth of July Google Doodle celebrating Fourth of July Google 48/102 Wimbledon Championship Google Doodle celebrating Wimbledon Google 49/102 Victor Hugo Google Doodle celebrating Victor Hugo Google 50/102 Google Doodle celebrating Oskar Fischinger Google Doodle celebrating Oskar Fischinger Google 51/102 UK General Election 2017 Google celebrates the UK General Election Google 52/102 Zaha Hadid Google celebrates the acclaimed architect for becoming the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize on this day in 2004 Google 53/102 Richard Oakes Google Doodle celebrating Richard Oakes' 75 birthday Google 54/102 Google Doodle celebrating the Antikythera Mechanism Google Doodle celebrating the Antikythera Mechanism Google 55/102 Ferdinand Monoyer The famous French ophthalmologist, who invented the eye test, would have celebrated his 181st birthday today Google 56/102 Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google 57/102 Google Doodle celebrating Nasa's Cassini probe Google Doodle celebrating Nasa's Cassini probe Google 58/102 Google Doodle celebrating Fazlur Rahman Khan Google Doodle celebrating Fazlur Rahman Khan Google 59/102 Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google 60/102 Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google 61/102 Google Doodle celebrating Holi Festival Google Doodle celebrating Holi Festival Google 62/102 Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google 63/102 Abdul Sattar Edhi Google Doodle of Abdul Sattar Edhi on February 28 2017 Google 64/102 Seven earth-sized exoplanets discovered Google Doodle celebrates Nasa's discovery of seven earth-sized exoplanets in new solar system Google 65/102 Bessie Coleman Google Doodle honours the first African American woman to get an international pilot licence on her 125th birthday Google 66/102 Caroling Google Doodle celebrates Christmas caroling Google 67/102 Today's Google Doodle features activist Steve Biko Google 68/102 Walter Cronkite Google celebrates Walter Cronkite's 100th birthday 69/102 Ladislao José Biro Google celebrates Ladislao José Biro 117th birthday 70/102 Google Google celebrates its 18th birthday 71/102 The history of tea in Britain Google celebrates the 385th anniversary of tea in the UK 72/102 Autumnal equinox 2016 Google marks the start of fall 73/102 Paralympics 2016 Google marks the start of the Paralympic Games 2016 74/102 Nettie Stevens Google celebrates Nettie Stevens 155th birthday 75/102 Father's Day 2016 Google celebrates Father's Day 76/102 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Google celebrates Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 180th birthday 77/102 Earth Day 2016 Google celebrates Earth Day 78/102 Ravi Shankar Google marks Pandit Ravi Shankar's 96th birthday 79/102 Olympic Games in 1896 Google are celebrates the 120th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 80/102 World Twenty20 final Google celebrates the 2016 World Twenty20 cricket final between the West Indies and England with a doodle Google 81/102 William Morris Google celebrates William Morris' 182 birthday with a doodle showcasing his most famous designs Google 82/102 St Patrick's Day 2016 Googlle celebrates St Patrick's Day on 17 March 83/102 Caroline Herschel Google marks Caroline Herschel's 266th birthday Google 84/102 Clara Rockmore Google celebrates Clara Rockmore's 105th birthday 85/102 International Women's Day 2016 #OneDayIWill video marks International Woman's Day on 8 March 86/102 St David's Day 2016 Google marks St David's Day Google 87/102 Leap Year 2016 Google celebrates Leap Day on 28 February 2 Google 88/102 Lantern Festival 2016 Google celebrates the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a doodle of the Lantern Festival Google 89/102 Stethoscope Inventor, René Laennec Google celebrate's René Laennec's 235th birthday 90/102 Valentine's Day 2016 Google celebrates Valentine's Day with a romantic Doodle 91/102 Dmitri Mendeleev Google celebrate Dmitri Mendeleev's 182nd birthday 92/102 "The televisor" demonstartion Google Doodle celebrates 90 years since the first demonstration of television or "the televisor" to the public 93/102 Professor Scoville Google marks Professor Scoville’s 151st birthday 94/102 Sophie Taeuber-Arp Google marks Sophie Taeuber-Arp's 127th birthday 95/102 Charles Perrault Google celebrates author Charles Perrault's 388th birthday 96/102 Mountain of Butterflies discovery Google celebrates the 41st anniversary of the discovery of the Mountain of Butterflies 97/102 Winter Solstice 2015 Google celebrate the Winter Solstice 98/102 St Andrew's Day 2015 Google marks St Andrew's Day with doodle featuring Scotland's flag and Loch Ness monster 99/102 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy' Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago 100/102 George Boole Google marks George Boole's 200th birthday 101/102 Halloween 2015 Google celebrates Halloween using an interactive doodle game "Global Candy Cup" 102/102 Prague Astronomical Clock Google celebrates the 605th anniversary of the Prague Astronomical Clock, one of the oldest functioning timepieces in the world
Joanna would later immortalise her ancestor in verse, alongside Christopher Columbus and others, in her Metrical Legends of Exalted Characters (1821).
As a child, Baillie staged theatrical productions with her classmates, a practice she continued at boarding school in Glasgow.
Relocating to Windmill Street in Fitzrovia, London, with her mother in 1784 - where Joanna’s late uncle had left the family a property - she gained access to the literary circle of the English capital, meeting the novelist Fanny Burney and finding the encouragement to write her first poem, “Winter Day”.
She began to make a serious study of drama, reading Shakespeare, Racine, Moliere and Voltaire.
When the family relocated to Colchester in 1791, she conceived the idea for what would become Plays on the Passions and spent the decade writing Basil, The Tryal and De Monfort, which would comprise the first published volume of the work in 1798.
With no name on the title page but a lengthy introductory discourse outlining her intentions, the author’s identity was a subject of no little speculation at the turn of the 19th century.
A lavish Drury Lane production of De Monfort appeared in 1800 starring leading actors of the day Sarah Siddons and John Kemple but was not a success despite an 11-night run. A revival of 1821, starring Edmund Kean, fared a little better.
Joanne Baillie was acknowledged as the author of the second volume of Plays when it arrived in 1802, this instalment comprised of The Election, Ethwald and The Second Marriage. A third, consisting of Orra, The Dream, The Siege and The Beacon, would appear, following some delay, in 1814.
In the interim, she relocated to Hampstead, where she would live the remainder of her life with her sister Agnes following the death of their mother in 1806.
Her play The Family Legend was produced in Edinburgh thanks to the patronage of Sir Walter Scott, with whom she had a long friendship – the pair hosting each other on visits north and south of the border and engaging in a prolific correspondence.
Her final collection of poetry, Fugitive Verses, appeared in 1840, revisiting her earliest compositions of 1790 at the advice of friend and fellow poet Samuel Rogers.
Admired throughout her life for intelligence, wit and eye for human frailty, Joanna Bailey was one of the most respected writers of her period, hailed as the finest female poet since Sappho by everyone from William Wordsworth and Lord Byron to John Stuart Mill to Maria Edgeworth. Her philanthropic work on behalf of the poor was also widely admired.
She died at home in Hampstead on 23 February 1851, aged 88.
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Joanna Baillie, a Scottish writer who was once compared to Shakespeare, was born 256 years ago today.
The poet and playwright is being celebrated in today's Google Doodle and is often hailed as one of the greatest female poets of all time.
Joanna, born today in Bothwell, Lankarshire in 1762, lived to the age of 88, and is perhaps best known for her 1798 work Plays on the Passions.
In the "Introductory Discourse" to her theatrical sequence, Balilie set the tone for what would come to be known as English Romanticism.
(Image: Hulton Archive)
She spent 14 years working on her ambitious three-part project, a series of comedies and tragedies about love, hatred and jealousy with the stated goal of “unveiling the human mind under the dominion of those strong and fixed passions".
Today’s Doodle depicts some of her best-loved Plays on the Passions: Ethwald, De Monfort, The Tryal, Basil, and Orra.
Joanna, who was a descendant of Scottish warrior Sir William Wallace, became ingratiated into literary circles in London when she and her mother moved into a property on Windmill Street in Fitzrovia following the death of her uncle.
It was at this time that she met novelist Fanny Burney and was encouraged to write, shortly after which she penned her first poem Winter Day.
The family moved to Colchester in 1791 where she came up with the idea for Play on the Passions.
(Image: Popperfoto)
(Image: Hulton Archive)
First published anonymously, Baillie’s plays were the talk of London as readers tried to guess the author's identity.
Joanna was revealed as the writer when the second volume was released in 1802.
Third third volume was published in 1814, by which time she had moved to Hampstead in London, where she spent the rest of her life with her sister Agnes.
She was known for entertaining in her cottage, which was a hub of the literary scene of the time.
She maintained friendly relationships with many of the important British writers of her time, including William Wordsworth, and Lady and Lord Byron.
As well as her literary prowess, Joanna was remembered for her philanthropy.
(Image: Universal Images Group Editorial)
Though born into a well-off Scottish family, her mother saw hard times following her father’s sudden death.
A wealthy uncle’s inheritance helped her and her sister purchase the cottage where she lived and worked for most of her life, but she never forgot the less fortunate, donating half of the earnings from her writing to charity.
She wrote an essay in support of chimney sweeps, and advocated for women writers as well as other authors who struggled to provide for themselves.
The prolific yet soft-spoken Scottish writer, born on this day in 1762, was compared to Shakespeare during her lifetime and is often hailed as one of the greatest female poets of all times. Her first poem, “Winter Day,” evoked the natural beauty of her native Scotland. Her cottage outside London was a hub of the literary scene, where she maintained friendly relationships with many of the important British writers of her time, including William Wordsworth, and Lady and Lord Byron.
In the "Introductory Discourse" to her 1798 Plays on the Passions, Baillie set the tone for what would come to be known as English Romanticism. She spent fourteen years working on her ambitious three-part project, a series of comedies and tragedies about love, hatred and jealousy with the stated goal of “unveiling the human mind under the dominion of those strong and fixed passions.” Today’s Doodle depicts some of her best-loved ‘Plays on the Passions’: Ethwald, De Monfort, The Tryal, Basil, and Orra.
First published anonymously, Baillie’s plays were the talk of London as readers tried to guess the author’s identity. Despite her obvious talents, she was reluctant to publish at all—"were it not that my Brother has expressed a strong wish that I should publish a small vol: of poetry,” she wrote in a letter, ”I should have very little pleasure in the thought”— but she was determined that her plays (psychological dramas featuring strong female characters) be performed by actors on stage rather than simply read. “I have wished to leave behind me in the world a few plays,” she wrote in the preface to her 1804 collection ‘Miscellaneous Plays,’ “some of which might have a chance of continuing to be acted even in our canvas theatres and barns.”
Baillie’s literary legacy is rivaled only by her philanthropy. Though born into a well-off Scottish family, her mother saw hard times following her father’s sudden death. A wealthy uncle’s inheritance helped her and her sister purchase the cottage where she lived and worked for most of her life, but she never forgot the less fortunate, donating half of the earnings from her writing to charity. She wrote an essay in support of chimney sweeps, and advocated for women writers as well as other authors who struggled to provide for themselves.
Happy Birthday Joanna Baillie!
Google has just marked what would’ve been the 256th birthday of Scottish writer Joanna Baillie with a new Google Doodle.
One of the most important writers of her time, she helped to usher in the age of English Romanticism in literature and continues to be held in high esteem to this day.
Here’s a quick look at who she was and what a Google Doodle is.
Google's new Doodle for September 11, 2018 celebrates the life and work of Joanna Baillie
Who was Joanna Baillie?
Joanna Baillie was an acclaimed poet, dramatist and writer from Scotland known for works like Fugitive Verses and Plays on the Passions.
She was born in Bothwell, Scotland on September 11, 1762.
Born into a wealthy family, she took up writing at a young age and published her first poem Winter Day to celebrate her home country’s natural beauty. Her later works, Plays of the Passions, published from 1798 to 1812, helped lead the rise of English Romanticism in literature while Fugitive Verses, published in 1840, was also critically acclaimed.
Hailed by critics, Baillie’s works were first published anonymously, as she often shied away from attention. Still, she was often compared to Shakespeare by her contemporaries and are still highly-regarded even today.
In addition to her acclaimed writing career, Baillie was a prolific philanthropist, donating half of her earnings to charity while also advocating on behalf of women and the working class.
She died on February 23, 1851 at age 88, but is still held in great esteem both for her writing and philanthropic efforts.
What is a Google Doodle?
Google Doodles are temporary changes to Google’s homepage logo in recognition of notable people, achievements, events, anniversaries and the like.
Introduced back in 1998 to mark the Burning Man festival, they were at first created by Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page before an in-house team called Doodlers was established to produce them more regularly.
In recent years, Google Doodles have been used to mark major holidays like Labor Day as well as notable people like Dorothy Hill and Oskar Schlemmer.
