Trivia

Contemporary reports state he drowned as a result of heart failure.

Long time collaborator with Arthur Sullivan.

Died attemting to save a drowning woman

Further investigation in the exact cause of WSG's death leads to confusion, not clarity. Andrew Crowther wrote in "The Life of W. S. Gilbert" that Gilbert "was giving swimming lessons to two young women in his lake at Grim's Dyke, when one of the women, getting out of her depth, as she thought, called out for help. Gilbert dived in to help her, but died of heart failure in the middle of the lake." The King's College London Gilbert & Sullivan Society says otherwise: "Aged 75, he rescued a young girl from drowning on his estate. He died hours later of heart failure." X. J. Kennedy's review of Jane W. Stedman's monograph, "W. S. Gilbert: A Classic Victorian and His Theatre", mentions only in passing (well, it IS only a book review) "Gilbert's untimely death by drowning while trying to rescue a screaming but not really endangered teenage girl." The Potted History website plays its cards close to its chest, saying, rather coyly, "Sir William Gilbert dies on May 29th while trying to save to a young girl from drowning." Perhaps the most convincing account is the undramatic report to be found in a "Newspaper News Item: London May 30th", also found at Potted History. The journalist wrote: "Death occurred from heart failure while bathing. Sir W.S. Gilbert, who had spent the day in London, returned to Harrowweald in the afternoon. A few minutes later friends found him lying dead in an open-air swimming bath in the grounds of his house, Grimsdyke, where he was teaching two children to swim." Two women, or two children, or teenagers? It sounds rather a boisterous afternoon. Gilbert would have appreciated our Heisenbergian uncertainty about where he was, and when, and in what condition, these puzzles having left him rather in the same state of uncertainty as Schroedinger's Cat!

H.M.S. Pinafore performed at the Savoy Theatre was nominated for Outstanding Musical Production in 2001 (2000 season) at the Laurence Oliiver Theatre Awards.

H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado both performed at the Savoy Theatre was nominated for Outstanding Musical Production in 2001 (2000 season) at the Laurence Oliiver Theatre Awards.

In 2000, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado were performed at the Savoy in original format. In 2000,The Pirates of Penzeance had a new version by Joseph Papp which was presented on Broadway by the New York Shakespeare Festival and in London.

H.M.S. Pinafore was nominated for Outstanding Musical Production in 2001 (2000 season) at the Laurence Oliiver Theatre Awards.

In 2000, three Gilbert & Sullivan musical productions, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado, and The Pirates of Penzeance were all nominated for Outstanding Musical Production in 2001 at the Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards.

Was trained in the law; this training flavored many Gilbert & Sullivan works.

Arthur Sullivan and his musical, "The Pirates of Penzance," was nominated for the 2011 Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Production of a Musical.

Arthur Sullivan and his musical, "The Pirates of Penzance," at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for a 2012 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Large Musical Production.

His musical, "The Mikado" at The Hypocrites Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for the 2013 Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Musical Production.

Arthur Sullivan and his musical, "Hot Mikado" at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for a 1993 Joseph Jefferson Equity Award for Musical Production.

He was knighted in 1907.