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Born on September 19th, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. His mother, Mildred, was an active suffragette who fought for women’s right to vote. His father, Alex, worked as a schoolmaster. -
William was born on September 19th, 1911 and he died on June 19th 1993.
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In 1934, a year before he graduated, William published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems. The collection was largely overlooked by critics. -
In 1935 Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury.
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The couple had married in 1939 and had two children, David (b. 1940) and Judith (b. 1945). -
In 1940 Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II. -
During World War II, he fought battleships at the sinking of the Bismarck, and also fended off submarines and planes. Lieutenant Golding was even placed in command of a rocket-launching craft.
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In 1945, after World War II had ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing.
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In 1954, after 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies. The novel told the gripping story of a group of adolescent boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane wreck. -
In 1963, the year after Golding retired from teaching, Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel. -
Two decades later, at the age of 73, Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature. -
In 1988 he was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II. -
In 1990 a new film version of the Lord of the Flies was released, bringing the book to the attention of a new generation of readers. -
On June 19, 1993, Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall.