Tom Stoppard

Sir Tom Stoppard, born Tomáš Sträussler on 3 July 1937 and died on 29 November 2025, was a British playwright and screenwriter who wrote for film, radio, stage and television. His work covered human rights, censorship and political freedom, often delving into the philosophical bases of society. Born in Czechoslovakia, he left as a Jewish child refugee, spent three years at a boarding school in Darjeeling and settled with his family in England in 1946. He became a journalist and drama critic and then, in 1960, a playwright. He was knighted in 1997 and awarded the Order of Merit in 2000, and his most prominent plays include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.