Dorothy Parker died on this day, 1967.

Many Dominatrices, myself included, hold Parker up as an influence, an inspiration and an icon. A prolific writer, she was famously acerbic and we have many quotable examples of her cynical – sometimes cruel – wit. Her private life was often somewhat tumultuous. She was married twice, took a number of lovers, and for many years battled her own insecurity, depression and alcoholism, yet always hid her troubles behind a brilliant but vicious sense of humour. Her long-term friend S J Perelman affectionately described their first encounter as “a scarifying ordeal”. Parker was active in Civil Rights and Anti-Fascist organisations, and as a result, the NAACP claimed her remains in 1988 and erected a memorial garden in her honour, with a plaque that reads as follows:

“Here lie the ashes of Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) humorist, writer, critic. Defender of human and civil rights. For her epitaph she suggested, ‘Excuse my dust’. This memorial garden is dedicated to her noble spirit which celebrated the oneness of humankind and to the bonds of everlasting friendship between black and Jewish people. Dedicated by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. October 28, 1988.”

Read some of the best known Dorothy Parker quotes here.