George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is acclaimed as the most significant British dramatist of the modern era. Though he is best known as a playwright, Shaw was also a respected critic, journalist, novelist, and essayist. A famous social reformer, Shaw wrote plays which dramatized social commentaries, and in 1925 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his achievements. Today, his works are studied in literature classes worldwide and are considered classics of modern drama.