Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 in Portsmouth, England. He had a happy childhood after his family moved to Chatham. At the age of 12, Dickens had to leave school because his father was imprisoned for debt. The poverty and adversity Dickens experienced as a child greatly influenced his later views on social reform. Before his death on 9 June 1870, he wrote about 15 major novels and many short stories, most of which are famous for their surprise endings.