Ernest Hemingway is known as one of the most talented authors of the 20th century. Although he's primarily known for his writing, he had quite an interesting life. He was born on July 21st, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. In high school, Hemingway wrote for the school newspaper, mostly about sports. After graduation, he went and wrote for the Kansas City Star. Here, he gained experience that would later greatly influence his style of writing.
In 1918, he went off to serve in World War 1 as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army. He was awarded the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery, but soon was injured and sent to a hospital in Milan. Here he met a nurse named Agnes von Kurowsky. They were soon engaged, but Agnes found a new man shortly after. Due to this, Hemingway was inspired to write "A Very Short Story" & "A Farewell to Arms." At 20 years old, he went back to Chicago and took a job at the Toronto Star. He then married and had children with Hadley Richardson.
He went to Paris and with the help of Gertrude Stein, was able to establish his position as a professional, well-known, writer. Due to an affair with Pauline Pfeiffer, Hadley divorced Hemingway. Pauline quickly became his wife and mother to more children. They then decided to move back to America. Here, they lived in Key West, Florida.
In Key West, Hemingway's first priority was always writing. When he wasn't writing, he was fishing and out in the water. Much of the 1930's, Hemingway spent traveling. He was big-game hunting in Africa, bullfighting in Spain, or just deep-sea fishing in Florida. While in Spain, he met a war correspondent named Martha Gellhorn. He was inspired to write the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, "For Whom the Bell Tolls."
His marriage with Pauline quickly ended and he married Gellhorn. During World War II, Hemingway served as a correspondent. He then met another was correspondent, Mary Welsh. He married her after his divorce from Martha Gellhorn.
Although Hemingway's life seemed wonderful, there were many down falls. He was a survivor of multiple plane crashes, and also was a victim of many life-long war injuries. After retiring to Idaho, Hemingway continued to battle with deterioration mental and physical health. On July 2, 1961 Ernest Hemingway committed suicide.
