By: HISTORY.com Editors
James Joyce is born
Novelist James Joyce is born this day in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest of 10 children. His father, a cheerful ne’er-do-well, will eventually go bankrupt.
Joyce attended Catholic school and University College in Dublin. A brilliant scholar, he learned Dano-Norwegian in order to read the plays of Henrik Ibsen in the original. In college, he began a lifetime of literary rebellion, self-publishing an essay rejected by the school’s literary magazine adviser.
After graduation, Joyce moved to Paris. He planned to become a doctor to support himself while writing, but soon gave up his medical studies. He returned to Dublin to visit his mother’s deathbed and remained to teach school and work odd jobs. On June 16, 1904, he met Nora Barnacle, a lively uneducated woman with whom he fell in love. He convinced Nora to return to Europe with him. The couple settled in Trieste, where they had two children, and then in Zurich. Joyce struggled with serious eye problems, undergoing 25 operations for various troubles between 1917 and 1930.
Banned Books: 10 Literary Classics That Faced Censorship
These classic works of literature ran afoul of government censors.
These classic works of literature ran afoul of government censors.
In 1914, he published The Dubliners. The following year, his novel Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man brought him fame and won him several wealthy patrons, including Edith Rockefeller.
In 1918, the American journal Little Review began to serialize Ulysses, Joyce’s revolutionary stream-of-consciousness novel. However, the U.S. Post Office stopped the publication’s distribution in December of that year on the grounds that the novel was obscene. Sylvia Beach, owner of the bookstore Shakespeare and Co. in Paris, published the novel herself in 1922, but it was banned in the United Kingdom and in the United States until 1933.
Joyce’s last novel, Finnegan’s Wake, was published in 1939, and Joyce died two years later.
Also on This Day in History
Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on February 2nd
Related
Arts & Entertainment
42 videos
Each of these paintings comes with a perilous past.
The Dark Knight’s most notorious foes have some surprising cultural roots.
Orson Welles' 1938 program is the most famous—and dramatic—broadcast in radio history.
About the author
HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Christian Zapata, Cristiana Lombardo and Adrienne Donica.
Fact Check
We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.
Citation Information
- Article Title
- James Joyce is born
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- October 29, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- January 31, 2025
- Original Published Date
- November 13, 2009
