William Wycherley

(1641 - 1716)

The English dramatist William Wycherley wrote the Restoration comedies The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer—plays that include some of the earliest literary uses of the words nincompoop and happy-go-lucky. He was a member of the court of Charles II but fell out of favor after marrying the countess of Drogheda, whose 1681 death would have left him a wealthy man had her will not been contested.