Ernest Hemingway
American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist known for his economical style and adventurous life.
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American writer of novels, short stories, and journalism. His prose was spare and direct, a style that shaped many writers who came after him. He also became a larger-than-life figure, celebrated for his daring adventures and his blunt, no-nonsense public persona. Several of his seven novels, six short-story collections, and two nonfiction books are now considered essential works of American literature. In 1954, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Hemingway grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. After finishing high school, he worked for six months as a reporter at *The Kansas City Star*, then joined the Red Cross. During World War I, he drove an ambulance on the Italian Front and was badly hurt by shrapnel in 1918. In 1921, he moved to Paris, where he reported for the *Toronto Star* and fell in with the modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate scene. His first novel, *The Sun Also Rises*, came out in 1926. He returned to the United States in 1928 and settled in Key West, Florida. His wartime experiences fueled his 1929 novel *A Farewell to Arms*.
In 1937, Hemingway traveled to Spain to report on the Spanish Civil War, which later became the basis for his 1940 novel *For Whom the Bell Tolls*, written in Havana, Cuba. During World War II, he was with Allied troops as a journalist for the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. His novel *The Old Man and the Sea* was published in 1952, earning widespread praise and a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 1954, while on a trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane crashes, leaving him in pain and poor health for most of his remaining years. He died by suicide at his home in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961.
- born
- July 21, 1899, Oak Park, Illinois
- died
- July 2, 1961, Ketchum, Idaho
- field
- Novelist, short-story writer, journalist
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Economical, understated prose style; adventurous lifestyle; classics such as The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea
Lore & Background
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded by shrapnel in 1918. In 1921, Hemingway moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and was influenced by the modernist writers and artists of the 'Lost Generation' expatriate community. His debut novel, The Sun Also Rises, was published in 1926. In 1928, Hemingway returned to the U.S., where he settled in Key West, Florida. His experiences during the war supplied material for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. In 1937, Hemingway went to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War, which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, written in Havana, Cuba. During World War II, Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. His novel The Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952 to widespread acclaim and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Hemingway was seriously injured in two plane crashes during a trip to Africa in 1954, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. He died by suicide at his house in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961.
Reader's Guide
Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, the second of six children. His father, Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, was a physician; his mother, Grace Hall Hemingway, was a musician. He attended Oak Park and River Forest High School from 1913 to 1917, where he edited the school newspaper and yearbook. After high school, he worked for six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star. He then volunteered as an ambulance driver with the American Red Cross in Italy during World War I. On July 8, 1918, he was seriously wounded by mortar fire at Fossalta di Piave. He was decorated for assisting Italian soldiers despite his wounds. After the war, he worked as a freelancer and staff writer for the Toronto Star, then moved to Chicago in 1920.
Did You Know?
- Hemingway was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.
- He was seriously wounded by shrapnel on the Italian Front in World War I at age 18.
- His novel The Old Man and the Sea won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953.
- He was present as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris during World War II.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"And how much better to die in all the happy period of undisillusioned youth, to go out in a blaze of light, than to have your body worn out and old and illusions shattered." — Ernest Hemingway "Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and is all stuck over with large brown hotels built on the cuckoo clock style of architecture." — Ernest Hemingway "Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl." — Ernest Hemingway "A man's got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book." — Ernest Hemingway
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