the son of émigré italian scholar gabriele pasquale giuseppe rossetti and his wife frances mary lavinia polidori, gabriel charles dante rossetti was born in london, on 12 may 1828. his family and friends called him gabriel, but in publications he put the name dante first in honour of dante alighieri. he was the brother of poet christina rossetti, critic william michael rossetti, and author maria francesca rossetti. his father was a roman catholic, at least prior to his marriage, and his mother was an anglican; ostensibly gabriel was baptised as and was a practising anglican. john william polidori, who had died seven years before his birth, was rossetti's maternal uncle. during his childhood, rossetti was home educated and later attended king's college school, and often read the bible, along with the works of shakespeare, dickens, sir walter scott, and lord byron.