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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
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
1712 - 1778
Author and political philosopher born in Geneva, Switzerland as the son of a watchmaker. His mother died giving birth to...
Further reading
Pynchon, Thomas
1937 -
One of America's most celebrated authors, Thomas Pynchon, grew up in Glen Cove on Long Island together with his brother...
Further reading
Perec, Georges
1936 - 1982
George Perec's Jewish parents emigrated from Poland to France in the 1920s. His father served in the war and was killed in...
Further reading
Rolland, Romain
1866 - 1944
The French author and playwright Romain Rolland was born in Clamecy, Bourgogne. The family moved to Paris, partly for the...
Further reading