Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England. He came from a poor family and had to leave school early to work in a factory due to his father's debts. Dickens went on to become a famous writer, publishing many novels that exposed the injustices of Victorian society. Some of his most famous works include Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens died in 1870 at the age of 58, leaving his final novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood unfinished.