American-born poet, critic, and playwright Thomas Stearns Eliot settled in London after studying at Oxford. He became a British subject in 1927. With the publication of his first two works, "Prufrock and other Observations" and "The Wasteland," Eliot's reputation was made. He is viewed as the leading voice of modernism and as one of the most important poets of the 20th century. Eliot received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948. Among his works are "The Cocktail Party," "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," "Four Quartets" and "Poetry and Drama."