<p>Pygmalion&nbsp;is a play by&nbsp;George Bernard Shaw, named after a&nbsp;Greek mythological figure. It was first presented on stage to the public in 1913.</p><p>In ancient Greek mythology,&nbsp;Pygmalion&nbsp;fell in love with one of his sculptures, which then came to life. The general idea of that myth was a popular subject for&nbsp;Victorian era&nbsp;British playwrights, including one of Shaw's influences,&nbsp;W. S. Gilbert, who wrote a successful play based on the story called&nbsp;Pygmalion and Galatea&nbsp;that was first presented in 1871. Shaw would also have been familiar with the&nbsp;burlesque&nbsp;version,&nbsp;Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed. Shaw's play has been adapted numerous times, most notably as the 1938 film&nbsp;Pygmalion, the 1956 musical&nbsp;My Fair Lady&nbsp;and its 1964&nbsp;film version.</p><p>Shaw mentioned that the character of Professor Henry Higgins was inspired by several British professors of phonetics:&nbsp;Alexander Melville Bell,&nbsp;Alexander J. Ellis, Tito Pagliardini, but above all, the cantankerous&nbsp;Henry Sweet.</p>