William Golding

  • Birth

    Birth
    He was born September 9th, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. His mother was an active suffragette and his father was a schoolmaster.
  • Young Writer

    Young Writer
    When William was just 12 years old, he attempted to write a novel. He was an angered child that took his anger out on his peers and enjoyed hurting them.
  • Teacher

    Teacher
    In 1935 Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. He taught unruly young boys as a teacher which would serve inspiration in his novel, "Lord of the Flies."
  • Royal Navy

    Royal Navy
    In 1940, Golding took a break from teaching to join the Royal Navy and fight in WWII. He spent the next six years on a boat sinking battleships at the sinking of the Bismarck.
  • Publish Lord of the Flies

    Publish Lord of the Flies
    In 1954, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies, after being rejected 21 times. The book set the tone for Golding’s future work, in which he continued to examine man’s internal struggle between good and evil.
  • Film

    Film
    A year after Golding retires, Peter Brook makes a film of Lord of the Flies.
  • Nobel Prize

    Nobel Prize
    In 1983, William Golding recieved the Nobel Prize for Literature. It was a bestseller book that sold to tens of millions of people.
  • Knighting

    Knighting
    In 1988 he was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II. This is an honour because it is the highest honour an individual can get in the United Kingdom.
  • New Film

    New Film
    In 1990, a new updated version of the previous film of Lord of the Flies came out. This got the attenion of newer generations and got them to read the book.
  • Death

    Death
    He dies of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. After Golding passed away, his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published.