Ted Hughes OM, (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet and writer of children's stories. He was born in Mytholmroyd, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was married to the American poet Sylvia Plath from 1956 until her suicide in 1963. From 1984 until his death, he was the British Poet Laureate. He died of colorectal cancer in London, aged 68.