Ernest Hemingway
A reporter from Oak Park, Illinois, who wrote novels of war, Paris and Spain and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
The Old Man and the Sea
A novella about an old Cuban fisherman and a giant marlin, published in 1952; it won the Pulitzer Prize and was the one work the Swedish Academy named when it gave him the Nobel.43
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At a glance
- Born
- July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois; his father was a doctor1211
- Early work
- Reporter for the Kansas City Star, then the Toronto Star12
- First World War
- American Red Cross ambulance driver in Italy, seriously wounded in 19181211
- Married
- Four times; his first wife was Hadley Richardson, married 1921126
- Homes
- Paris, Key West, Cuba and Ketchum, Idaho128
- Died
- July 2, 1961, at his home in Ketchum, Idaho1411
- Major awards
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1953, for The Old Man and the Sea4
- Nobel Prize in Literature, 19543
Ernest Hemingway's Backstory
Early life
Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of a doctor, Clarence Hemingway, and Grace Hall Hemingway.1211 After high school he worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star.1214
War and Paris
Turned down for military service because of his eyesight, he became an American Red Cross ambulance driver in Italy and was seriously wounded in 1918; his wartime experiences became the basis of A Farewell to Arms.11126 He reported for the Toronto Star, married Hadley Richardson in 1921 and moved with her to Paris.12
The novels
His first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems, appeared in 1923, followed by In Our Time (1925), The Sun Also Rises (1926) and A Farewell to Arms (1929).1 In the 1930s and 1940s he lived in Key West and in Cuba, wrote books about bullfighting and an African safari, and covered the Spanish Civil War, which he portrayed in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940).81517 He married four times.6
The Nobel
The Old Man and the Sea (1952) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953.4 In 1954 the Swedish Academy awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his mastery of the art of narrative.”3 He was in poor health and did not travel to Stockholm to accept it.24
Later years and death
In 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho, and he died by suicide at his home there on July 2, 1961.814 Several books appeared after his death, among them A Moveable Feast (1964), Islands in the Stream (1970) and The Garden of Eden (1986).1 His son Patrick, who helped manage his estate and edited True at First Light, died in 2025.23
Fun facts
- He relied on the Kansas City Star's style guide, which told reporters to use short sentences and short first paragraphs.9
- He did not travel to Stockholm for his Nobel Prize; the U.S. ambassador to Sweden read his acceptance speech.2024
- The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library holds his known surviving manuscripts, his fishing logs and more than 10,000 photographs.14
- His wife Mary Hemingway has a cameo as a tourist in the 1958 film of The Old Man and the Sea.13
Books
In order of first publication. Each series is kept together, in reading order, starting where its first book appeared. Novels, story collections, nonfiction and poetry from the Nobel Prize's Hemingway bibliography, dated by first publication; pamphlets, the film script The Spanish Earth, letters, journalism collections and later selections of the stories are left out, and Men at War, which he edited, comes from the JFK Library's list.12
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Latest news
The Hemingway Society's 21st International Conference was set for Toronto, where he got his first bylines at the Toronto Star.2627
The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm received a copy of The Old Man and the Sea that he inscribed in June 1961 during a hospital stay in Rochester, Minnesota; the museum says the inscription is probably the last of his writing to survive.2425
The Sun Also Rises turned 100; the Hemingway Society marked it with a panel at the Modern Language Association convention in Toronto.28
Adaptations and other media
Film
- A Farewell to Arms1932Based on A Farewell to Arms
A film with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.13
- For Whom the Bell Tolls1943Based on For Whom the Bell Tolls
A film directed by Sam Wood, with Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman.1317
- The Old Man and the Sea1958Based on The Old Man and the Sea
A Warner Bros. film directed by John Sturges, with Spencer Tracy as Santiago.181319
Myth and record
The claimTo win a bet, Hemingway wrote the six-word story "For sale, baby shoes, never worn" on a napkin, an anecdote still widely repeated.2221
The recordQuote Investigator found no substantive evidence that he wrote it. The anecdote was first published in 1991 by a literary agent who said he had heard it around 1974, and similar newspaper items date back to 1906 and 1910.2110
Timeline
Born in Oak Park, Illinois.12
Begins reporting for the Kansas City Star.12
Seriously wounded while serving as a Red Cross ambulance driver in Italy.12
Marries Hadley Richardson and moves to Paris.12
The Sun Also Rises is published.1
A Farewell to Arms is published.1
For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.1
The Old Man and the Sea is published.4
Wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.4
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.3
Dies at his home in Ketchum, Idaho.14
A Moveable Feast is published.1
The Nobel Prize Museum receives a book he inscribed weeks before his death.24
What came after
The Hemingway Letters Project continues to publish his correspondence; six volumes, covering 1907 to June 1936, have appeared so far.29
Sources
- Ernest Hemingway – Bibliography NobelPrize.orgPrimary record
- Hemingway's Works (By Genre) John F. Kennedy Presidential LibraryPrimary record
- 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature WikipediaReference
- The Old Man and the Sea Wikipedia (IPFS mirror)Reference
- Ernest Hemingway bibliography WikipediaReference
- Ernest Hemingway WikipediaReference
- The Old Man and the Sea Powell's Books (publisher's author note)Website
- Ernest Hemingway Wikipedia (2013 archive)Reference
- Ernest Hemingway Wikipedia (2022 archive)Reference
- For sale: baby shoes, never worn WikipediaReference
- Ernest Hemingway Britannica KidsReference
- Ernest Hemingway career timeline PBS American MastersReference
- Films Based on Hemingway Works PBS (Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure)Website
- Ernest Hemingway National Archives, The Text Message / Prologue blogPrimary record
- Ernest Hemingway Library of AmericaWebsite
- The 5 best Ernest Hemingway movie adaptations The A.V. ClubNews
- For Whom the Bell Tolls RogerEbert.comNews
- Ernest Hemingway Profile Turner Classic MoviesWebsite
- Dal libro al film: schermo schermo dei miei Nobel – Parte I Rolling Stone ItaliaNews
- The Writer's Endurance: The Old Man and the Sea Great Books GuyWebsite
- Quote Origin: For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn Quote InvestigatorReference
- Baby shoes Arkansas Democrat-GazetteNews
- Patrick Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's last surviving child, dies at 97 Associated Press (via News4JAX)News
- Book with inscription Nobel Prize MuseumPrimary record
- Conversation and object donation: Hemingway Nobel Prize MuseumPrimary record
- Hemingway Society conference in Toronto, 2026 The Hemingway SocietyPrimary record
- IHSC2026: Hemingway in Toronto EasyChairWebsite
- CFP: The Sun Also Rises at 100 - 2026 MLA in Toronto The Hemingway SocietyPrimary record
- The Hemingway Letters Project: Emerging Research (Toronto 2026) The Hemingway SocietyPrimary record