Tom Stoppard, Britain’s foremost twentieth-century playwright, who was called to Buckingham Palace at the age of sixty to be knighted “Sir Tom”, was born Tomáš Sträussler in a small Czech village on 3rd July 1937. His family was of Jewish descent and, fearing the imminent German invasion, first moved to Singapore in 1939, then took refuge in Darjeeling, India. Unfortunately, Tomáš’s father stayed on in Singapore and was killed there during the Japanese invasion. Tomáš’s mother then married a British Army Major, Kenneth Stoppard. Tom and his brother attended an American school, so when they finally moved to England in 1946, young Tom had already made English his first language and felt immediately at home. Leaving school when he was seventeen, his aim was to become a “great journalist” and, whilst working for various newspapers...
5203 words
Citation: Mader, Doris. "Sir Tom Stoppard". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2004; last revised 04 December 2025. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4249, accessed 10 June 2026.]
