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It is 152 years today since Bertrand Russell was born.
The British philosopher and author Bertrand Arthur William Russel was born in Trelleck, Monmouthshire, Wales, to an aristocratic family that included the former Prime Minister Lord John Russell. His parents were liberal and advocated, among other things, the emancipation of women. Although his godfather was John Stuart Mill, the boy was brought up by his Presbyterian grandmother after he was...
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It is 80 years today since W.G. Sebald was born.
Winfried Georg (W.G.) Sebald was born near the end of the Second World War in the Bavarian mountain village of Wertach where his mother had moved to get away from the bombing of the town of Bamberg. His parents, Rosa and Georg, had three children. His father, an officer of the Wehrmacht who had participated in the invasion of Poland, was a prisoner of war until 1947, but mentioning the war was...
Sample of Authors
Smith, Charles Merrill
1918 - 1985
American Methodist pastor and writer, born in Shidler, Indiana, where he also grew up. He gained a B.A. at Earlham College...
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Verlaine, Paul
1844 - 1896
Paul Verlaine, one of the finest early modern poets, was born in Metz in north-east France where his father, an army...
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Celan, Paul
1920 - 1970
The Romanian Jewish poet who wrote under the pen name Paul Celan was born as Paul Antschel. He grew up in Chernivtsi,...
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Martinson, Harry
1904 - 1978
Harry Martinson was born in Jämshög in Blekinge. He had a difficult and unhappy childhood. His father, who largely was a...
Further reading