Brummell, Beau (George Bryan Brummell) [key], 1778–1840, English dandy and wit. Brummell was greatly admired for his fastidious appearance and confident manner. He was an intimate of the prince regent (later George IV), and as such influenced men of society to wear dark, simply cut clothes and elaborate neckwear. He is also credited with having set the fashion for trousers rather than breeches. Having quarreled with the prince, and deeply in debt from gambling, Brummell fled to France, where, ironically, he lived for 14 years in poverty and squalor. He died insane in a hospital at Caen.
See biographies by H. Cole (1977).
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