Short answers, pulled from the story.
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was born on the 29th of November 1797 in the Borgo Canale quarter of Bergamo. His family lived in poverty and his father Andrea worked as the caretaker of the town pawnshop to support the household.
Anna Bolena given at the Teatro Carcano in Milan on the 26th of December 1830 achieved instant fame throughout Europe. Lucia di Lammermoor premiered in Naples on the 26th of September 1835 and reached a stature similar to Bellini's Norma during a time when Rossini had retired.
Gaetano Donizetti died on the afternoon of the 8th of April 1848 after a serious bout of apoplexy occurred on the 1st of April followed by further decline. He suffered from cerebro-spinal syphilis which led to severe mental illness and confinement in an institution for the mentally ill starting in early 1846.
Salvadore Cammarano wrote eight librettos for him starting with Lucia di Lammermoor while Eugène Scribe provided French texts for works such as Les Martyrs and Dom Sébastien. Domenico Gilardoni wrote eleven librettos for him beginning with Otto mesi in due ore in 1827.
In October 1838 Donizetti moved to Paris vowing never to have dealings with the San Carlo again because the King of Naples had banned Poliuto due to its sacred subject matter. In Paris he offered Poliuto to the Opéra where it was revised into Les Martyrs and premiered successfully in April 1840.