Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. 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.
Life and Career
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. In 1952, his novel The Old Man and the Sea was published to considerable acclaim, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. On a 1954 trip to Africa, Hemingway was seriously injured in two successive plane crashes, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. He died of suicide at his house in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961.
Key Facts
- Born: July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois, United States
- Died: 1961
- Field: Literature
Legacy and Impact
The influence of Ernest Hemingway extends far beyond his own lifetime. He fundamentally shaped literature and the written word, and his written works and literary innovations remain foundational to this day.
Though he passed away in 1961, his ideas continue to be studied, debated, and built upon by scholars and practitioners worldwide.
Ernest Hemingway remains one of the most celebrated minds to emerge from United States, a testament to the rich intellectual heritage of the region.
Notable Geniuses from United States
United States has produced many remarkable minds. Alongside Ernest Hemingway:
View all geniuses from United States →
Discover more brilliant minds in Literature
Explore Literature GeniusesRelated Articles
Explore More
Read the full profile of Ernest Hemingway
View Ernest Hemingway's Profile →