On January 16, 1794, the famous British historian and author of the world-famous historical giant The History of the Decline of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon, died.

Gibbons was born on 27 April 1737 in a bourgeois family in the town of Putney near London. Due to the early death of his mother, his father's severity brought him from childhood to a quiet inner character and a reading habit. During his teenage years, he loved exhibition books, especially history. Gibbons wrote in memories of the initial period of his learning life: "Read, read freely and arbitrarily, this is my work and consolation in my time of solitude."

At the age of 22, Gibbon retired and served in the army for about four years. In January 1763, he left England and traveled to Europe. He first stayed in Paris for a while. At that time, Paris was the center of the European Enlightenment movement, and Gibbon was deeply influenced here. In 1764, he travelled to Italy, whilst looking at the remains of ancient Rome, he was agitated, flattered, and planned to write a history of the fall of Rome.

When his father died in 1770, he settled in London and began to write The History of the Decline of the Roman Empire. On the evening of June 27, 1787, Gibbons wrote the final chapter. From the idea of writing to the writing, it took 20 years to complete, giving him the energy of his lifetime. The History of the Decline of the Roman Empire is a huge book. The entire book is 6 volumes of 71 chapters, more than 1.2 million words. Although the book has many shortcomings due to the author's ideological view of history, but it is rich in information, fine writing, vivid language, and classical reward. It was born, and immediately received a piece of praise from the European academic community. The famous American economist Adam Smith wrote a letter to him congratulating him that this book allowed him to be included in the first place in the European literary