Laurence Sterne was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric. He is best known for his comic novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767) and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1768). November 24, 1713 – March 18, 1768; died at 54. Alive at the same time as Isaac Newton, George Washington, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Immanuel Kant, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Wiki link