On July 21, 1899, Ernest Miller Hemingway was born - an American writer, journalist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, author of the works "A Farewell to Arms!", "For Whom the Bell Tolls?", "A Moveable Feast", "The Old Man and the Sea" and many others.
Youthful years
Ernest Hemingway was born to a doctor and a housewife in a privileged suburb of Chicago. He grew up as a stubborn boy and did only what he wanted.
He did not become a musician, as his mother wanted, and did not go to university. Instead, immediately after school, he moved in with his uncle and got a job at a local newspaper as a journalist.
On his very first day, Hemingway got a story about a fire - the result was an excellent report and a burnt suit. The most touching story There is a popular story about how Hemingway once made a bet that he could write the most touching story of just a few words. And he won the bet, writing:
"For sale, baby shoes. Never worn." Enthusiasts conducted an investigation to find out whether this was true or not. It turned out that this phrase first appeared in 1917 in an article by William R. Kane, and the modern version of the phrase appeared in 1991.
Volunteer driver for the Red Cross When World War I began, Hemingway really wanted to get to the front, but due to poor eyesight, he was not taken into the army. Then the young man signed up as a volunteer driver for the Red Cross – and so ended up at the front in Italy. On the very first day of their stay in Milan, Hemingway and other volunteers were sent to clear the territory of an exploded ammunition factory. Corpses had to be carried out, including women and children. Hemingway distinguished himself in the war by pulling an Italian sniper out of under fire. He himself received more than two hundred wounds, of which for a long
Boat
In 1941, Hemingway bought a boat, which he drove to Cuba. He became interested in sea fishing, and to protect his catch from sharks, he installed a machine gun on the boat. Hemingway broke the world record by catching seven marlin in one day.
The boat was also used for other purposes - from the summer of 1942 until the end of 1943, Hemingway hunted German submarines on it (here, in addition to the machine gun, he needed hand grenades).
Safari in Africa
Hemingway loved to hunt and once went on a long safari in East Africa, the impressions of which formed the basis of the book "Green Hills of Africa".
Among the writer's large trophies were three lions, twenty-seven antelopes and a buffalo.
War in Spain
Hemingway took an active part in the Civil War (1936-1939) in Spain on the side of the Republicans fighting General Franco.
He went to Madrid as a journalist together with a film crew to shoot the documentary "Earth of Spain", for which he wrote the script. During the hardest days of the war, Hemingway did not leave the city, which was besieged by the fascists.
The impressions of the war formed the basis of one of the author's most famous novels - "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940).
There was such a case
One day, Hemingway stole a urinal from his favorite bar. The writer said that he had "wasted" enough money in this bar, so he had the right to own it. The urinal was installed in Hemingway's house.
Favorite dishes
While writing his works, Hemingway most often ate peanut butter and onion sandwiches.
In general, he loved to eat well and knew how to cook.
Once in his newspaper column, Hemingway published a recipe for apple pie. Today, in the writer's museum in Florida, you can see his other recipes, for example, a hamburger.
Favorite city
Paris has always remained Hemingway's favorite city.
The writer first came there with his first wife in 1921. The newlyweds lived more than modestly, if not to say poorly. However, Hemingway wrote a lot and met many interesting people: writers Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, poet Ezra Pound, and so on. The happy time spent in Paris was later embodied in the book of memoirs "A Moveable Feast" (1964).