Thomas Hardy was born on June 2. 1840, in Stinsford, England, the son of a stonemason. He attended Mr. Last's Academy for Young Gentlemen in Dorchester, where he learned Latin. His schooling came to an end at age 16, due to money issues and he became an apprentice to an architect, winning prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. By 1867, he had moved back home to focus on writing. He wrote his first novel, "The Poor Man and the Lady" that same year. In 1874, he married Emma Lavinia Gifford, who died in 1912. In 1914, he married Florence Emily Dugdale, who was nearly 40 years younger. His final novel was published in 1897. Hardy died on January 11, 1928, of pleurisy, at the age of 87, in Dorchester. His heart is buried in Stinsford, while his ashes are at Westminster Abbey, in Poets' Corner.