John Ruskin (February 8, 1819 – January 20, 1900) was an artist, author and poet during the Victorian era. Born and raised in London, he was an only child who was home schooled. He began a passion for poetry, earning him the Newdigate prize at the University of Oxford. Ruskin had an enormous influence on nineteenth-century English culture. He published poetry, children's fantasy, and books and essays on geology, botany, church politics, political economy, painting, sculpture, literature, architecture, art education, myth, and aesthetics. [1]