 work became an instant hit and was translated into German, Dutch, and French in 1727. He, however, left London back to Ireland upon hearing the news that his friend Esther Johnson was dying. The death of her Esther resulted in his work The Death of Mrs. Johnson in 1728. He wrote his own obituary the Death of Dr. Swift in 1731 but was published in 1739.
The 1730s seemed to be bad for Jonathan Swift, as he also lost his friend John Gay in 1732 and John Arbuthnot followed in 1735. This affected Swift greatly that in 1738 Jonathan Swift also fell ill and believed to have had a stroke in 1742. Jonathan Swift lost the ability to speak properly and showed signs of mental illness. That year he also suffered an inflammation of the left eye and that year ended without him speaking.
Jonathan Swift died on 19 October 1745 close to 80 and was buried beside Esther Johnson according to his wish. After his death, £12,000 of his fortune was used to fund St Patrick’s Hospital for Imbecile, a hospital for mentally ill persons opened in 1757. The hospital still exists and serves its purpose. It is not known whether he had children.
Jonathan Swift has been named after the Swift crater, a crater on Mar’s moon Deimos. He is named after the Swift Street. A festival Trim Swift Festival is in his honor.
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