September 21, 1866

H. G. Wells (September 21, 1866 to August 13, 1946) knew Louis Wain (August 5, 1860 to July 4, 1939). Wain was not the first artist to dress cats in human clothing. You might say the Egyptians put cats in the garb of deities. But Wain drew cats in bourgeois poses and fashion. In 1924 Wain was hospitalized in a pauper's ward because of symptoms of mental illness. When Wells found out he helped lead a campaign to gather funds to transfer Wells to a private hospital. The final choice was a genteel setting. It had a garden, Wain could be around cats, and the reports are that he and his art thrived in such surroundings. 

H. G. Wells described the contribution Louis Wain made to society. "He has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves."