T. S. Eliot

Date of Birth: September 26, 1888

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Date of Death: January 4, 1965

Biography

Thomas Stearns Eliot, more commonly known as T. S. Eliot, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 26, 1888. He was an American-English poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic, and editor. Eliot is considered one of the 20th century’s major poets and was a central figure in English-language modernist poetry. His innovative and often complex works, such as “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” “The Waste Land,” “The Hollow Men,” “Ash Wednesday,” and “Four Quartets,” have left an indelible mark on the literary world. Educated at Harvard University, the Sorbonne, and Merton College, Oxford, Eliot moved to England in 1914 and became a British citizen in 1927. He worked for Lloyds Bank and later for the publishing firm Faber and Faber, where he became a director. His work earned him numerous accolades, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Eliot’s personal life was marked by his tumultuous marriage to Vivienne Haigh-Wood, which influenced much of his work, and his later, more tranquil marriage to Valerie Fletcher. He passed away on January 4, 1965, in London, England.

5 Interesting Facts about T. S. Eliot

1. T. S. Eliot was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.

2. He was a central figure in the modernist movement in poetry.

3. Eliot converted to Anglicanism in 1927, the same year he became a British citizen.

4. His first major poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” was published in 1915.

5. Eliot worked for the publishing firm Faber and Faber, where he helped to promote the works of many other writers.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from T. S. Eliot

1. “April is the cruellest month.”

2. “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.”

3. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

4. “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

5. “The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

T. S. Eliot’s highest net worth is estimated to have been around $300,000 at the time of his death, a modest sum by today’s standards but substantial in his era.