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August Wilson was born in on April 27, 1945 in Pittsburgh. His mother was named Daisy Wilson and his father was named Frederick Kittel. He was the 4th of six children and his birth name was Frederick August Kittel. -
Around the year 1957, Wilson's mother and father divorced. His mother moved the family from Pittsburgh's Hill District [also known somethings as Little Harlem] to Hazelwood [which was a nearby working-class neighborhood]. -
Wilson's mother got remarried to a man named David Bedford who became an important father figure in Wilson's life.
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The move to Hazelwood did cause problems for Wilson's family. The neighborhood that he spent most of his childhood in, The Hill District, was predominantly made up of African Americans. Hazelwood was a neighborhood in the suburbs which was predominantly white, so he and his family had to deal with racial threats.
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At the age of 15 (10th grade), Wilson dropped out of school after he was falsely accused of plagiarism of an essay on Napoleon Bonaparte.
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At the age of 17, Wilson joined the Army though his time there wasn't long. His time in the army only lasted 1 year since he passed a test for Officer Candidate School but he couldn't become an officer due to his age [under 19]. He ended up leaving the army the year after he joined which was 1963. -
August Wilson legally got his name changed to that in honor to his mother. -
Wilson married his 1st wife Brenda Burton in 1969. They had a daughter named Sakina in 1970, and ended up divorcing 2 years later. -
August Wilson created the play 'Jitney' in 1979, and it later produced in 1982. Jitney was one of his 1st notable plays. This play was set in the 1970's in Pittsburgh, and is about a group of African American men struggling to make a living driving for a taxi company. -
Wilson remarried in 1981 to a woman named Judy Oliver. The pair did not end up having any children together. They both divorced in the year 1990.
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August Wilson's mother, Daisy Wilson, died due to lung cancer at the age of 63
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August Wilson produced the play 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'. This play was set in the 1920's in Chicago, and follows the story of a blues singer and covers how African American musicians were exploited economically. -
August Wilson's play 'Fences' was performed in the year 1985. The play took place in the 1950's in the city of Pittsburgh, and is about a man and his family. The play explores race relations and the hardships faced by African Americans. -
August Wilson produced his play 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone'. This play was set in the 1910's and explores the African American experience at this point in time through the interactions between characters in a boarding house. -
August Wilson produced the play 'The Piano Lesson'. This play was set in the 1930's in Pittsburgh during the great depression and covers the complexities of family, history, and legacy. -
August Wilson created the play 'Two Trains Running'. This play was set in the 1960's, and is about racial tension during the time of the civil rights. -
In 1994, Wilson remarried again to a woman named Constanza Romero. They had a daughter in 1997 named Azula.
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August Wilson produced the play 'Seven Guitars'. This play was set in the 1940's, and was about the struggles of the African American community, following the story of a musician with dreams who faced many challenges and had a tragic end, and the play also reveals his relationships with other characters. -
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh granted Wilson an honorary high school diploma, and it was its [the library's] first ever high school diploma that was given.
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August Wilson produced the play 'King Hedley II'. This play was set in the 1980's and follows the story of an African American man who struggles with personal demons and financial hardships while trying to reclaim his identity and purpose. -
August Wilson produced his play Gem of the Ocean. This play was set in the 1900's, and explores both a spiritual and symbolic connection between the African American community and it's memory of past enslavement. -
August Wilson produced the play 'Radio Golf'. This play follows the story of an entrepreneur whos goal is to become the 1st Black mayor of the city of Pittsburgh, and it takes place in the late 1990s. -
August Wilson died at the age of 60 on October 2nd in Seattle. He was buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Pittsburgh on October 8th. -
https://www.historylink.org/File/10315#:~:text=They%20lived%20in%20Pittsburgh's%20Hill,working%2Dclass%20neighborhood%20of%20Hazelwood. https://www.britannica.com/biography/August-Wilson https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/august-wilson https://study.com/academy/lesson/summary-of-jitney-by-august-wilson.html#:~:text=%22Jitney%22%20was%20the%20first%20of,Wilson's%20Pittsburg%20Cycle%20in%202000.
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https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/august-wilson-the-ground-on-which-i-stand-august-wilsonbiography-and-career-timeline/3683/ https://calirb.com/august-wilson-a-life-by-patti-hartigan/#:~:text=Consequently%2C%20Wilson%20always%20aimed%20to%20please%20Daisy,Hill%20District%20neighborhood%20to%20mark%20her%20birthday. https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/August-Wilson/632826 https://fords.org/august-wilsons-century-cycle/
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https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/5694/august-wilsons-jitney https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/ma-raineys-black-bottom-august-wilson https://study.com/academy/lesson/fences-by-august-wilson-summary-analysis.html https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/joe-turners-come-and-gone-august-wilson#:~:text=%22Joe%20Turner's%20Come%20and%20Gone,pasts%2C%20identities%2C%20and%20relationships.
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https://shakespeare.org/shows/2024/august-wilsons-the-piano-lesson/ https://awaacc.org/american-century-cycle/two-trains-running/ https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/seven-guitars-august-wilson https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/king-hedley-ii-august-wilson#:~:text=%22King%20Hedley%20II%22%20is%20a,within%20the%20African%20American%20experience.