John William Polidori

7 September 1795 – 24 August 1821

Dr. **Polidori** was Lord Byron's personal physician. Upon accompanying Byron on holiday to Switzerland, he participated in a "ghost story" writing exercise. His own story was met with scorn, but, inspired by the fragment that Byron wrote, Polidori used this base to write was would become the first modern vampire story in the English language. His character, Lord Ruthven, an aristocratic bloodsucker based on Byron, would be used in English, French and German novels, operas and plays until the character was eclipsed by Stoker's Count Dracula. Polidori became depressed and indebted due to gambling. His death at the age of 25 was officially classed as natural causes, but it was likely that Polidori committed suicide. There is strong evidence indicating poisoning with cyanide. Through his sister, Polidori was the uncle to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.