Edward Lear, born on 12 May 1812 in Holloway and passing away on 29 January 1888 in Sanremo, was a multifaceted English artist, illustrator, musician, author, and poet. He is predominantly known for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose, and particularly for popularizing the limerick form. Lear's artistic work was diverse, including his role as a draughtsman employed to illustrate birds and animals, creating colored drawings during his travels which he later reworked into plates for his travel books, and as a minor illustrator of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poems.

As an author, Lear is celebrated for his collections of nonsense poems, songs, short stories, botanical drawings, recipes, and alphabets. He also ventured into music, composing and publishing twelve musical settings of Tennyson's poetry. A passionate traveler, Lear was especially captivated by Italy, where he spent a significant amount of time from his mid-twenties and eventually made it his home towards the end of his life. His contributions to literature, art, and music have left a lasting legacy, particularly in the genre of nonsense literature.