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Birth
W. H. Auden was born in York, England in 1907. His parents were Constance Rosalie Bicknell and George Augustus Auden. -
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The life of W. H. Auden
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The Audens move to Birmingham
When Auden was one year old, his family moved from York to Birmingham, England. -
Early education
At eight years old, young Wystan H. Auden is sent to St. Edmund's Prepatory School in Surrey. -
College
Auden went to college at Christ Church, Oxford. When he arrived, he had a scholarship in biology, but while attending there he turned his attention to poetry. -
First book published
Wystan H. Auden's first book was privately printed while he was attending his last year of college. It became popular in 1930 and it was then clear that Auden had great potential in poetry. -
Travel
Auden moved to Berlin, Germany in the autumn of 1928. This was partly to rebel against English repressiveness. During this time he also traveled to China, Iceland, and Scotland. -
Marriage
Wystan Hugh Auden married Erika Mann, the daughter of German novelist Thomas Mann. This provided Erika with a British passport. -
Cival War in Spain
When Auden traveled to Spain in 1937, he ended up serving in their gruesome civil war. Over 1 million civilians were killed in the war. -
Moves to the United States
W. H. Auden moved to Brooklyn in 1939 with a friend of his, Christopher Isherwood (also a poet). It was here he met another man who was to become a friend of his, Chester Kallman. -
World War 2
Almost immediately after moving to the U.S.A., World War 2 began. Although he did not take part in the war, it inspired some poetry and plays that he wrote later on in life. -
Won Pulitzer Prize
In 1948, W. H. Auden won the Pulitzer Prize for his long poem, The Age of Anxiety. It was split into six parts, and thoroughly declares the 20th century "the age of anxiety". -
Occupation
Auden was Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1954 to the day he died. He divided most of his days before death traveling between Austria and New York City. -
Death
While residing in Vienna, Austria, Wystan Hugh Auden passed away at the age of 66. His remarkable wit and obscure poetry have made him one of the most memoriable poets of the 20th cantury.
