William Golding

By Jody highroller

  • William Golding was born

    William Golding was born in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England.

  • published his first work

    William published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems.

  • started teaching

    In 1935 he started teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury.

  • Joined the royal navy

    He temporarily left teaching in 1940 to join the Royal Navy during World War Two.

  • Golding went back to teaching and writing

    In 1945, after World War II had ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing.

  • Lord of the Flies

    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.

  • Golding wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

    Two decades later, at the age of 73, Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature.

  • knighted

    In 1988 he was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II.

  • Death

    Golding spent the last few years of his life quietly living with his wife, Ann Brookfield, at their house near Falmouth, Cornwall, where he continued to toil at his writing and on June 19, 1993, Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall.