William Golding Timeline

  • Birth

    William Golding was born September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England.
  • William published his first work

    In 1934, a year before he graduated, William published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems.
  • William first teaching job

    In 1935 Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury.
  • Married and had children

    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. The couple had married in 1939 and had two children, David (b. 1940) and Judith (b. 1945).
  • William stopped teaching to join Navy

    In 1940 Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II.
  • What he done after the war

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

    In 1954, after 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies.
  • William retired from teaching

    In 1963, the year after Golding retired from teaching, Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel.
  • William won a Nobel Prize

    At the age of 73, Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature.
  • He was knighted

    In 1988 he was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II.
  • Film version of the novel came out

    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.
  • Death

    On June 19, 1993, Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. After Golding died, his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published posthumously.