Ernest Hemingway was an American writer and short-story novelist. His pieces are deemed classics in American culture and literature. His success came after the First World War, making him a member of the “Lost Generation.” This term was used by Hemingway in his debut, and well-renowned, novel, The Sun Also Rises (1926).

Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, an affluent suburb of Chicago, on July 21, 1899. He grew up in a well-educated family and was an editor for his high school newspaper and yearbook in his junior and senior years. He enjoyed being a journalist, as that was his first ambition before becoming a novelist. Hemingway was involved in World War I by being an ambulance driver in Italy, and this job nearly cost him his life. Upon return to post-war America, he found it difficult to readjust to society and was “lost.”

He relocated to Paris where many other members of the Lost Generation found themselves, and there he wrote his famous novel, The Sun Also Rises. He was inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald to become a novelist after reading The Great Gatsby. In 1928, Hemingway and his wife left Paris and moved to Key West, Florida. For the rest of his life, Hemingway gained inspiration from his environment for his next novel. He wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls after being in Spain covering the Spanish Civil War. He wrote The Old Man and the Sea through his experiences of living on the Gulf Coast with residences in both Cuba and Key West.

He eventually retired to Idaho, where he had a lot of mental problems and was constantly on the verge of breakdowns. He committed suicide by gunshot at the age of 61, and it was learned that his family had a pattern of suicide.

He is remembered by his distinct writing style and his prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1953) and Nobel Prize in Literature (1954).