Aldous huxley

Aldous Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He authored nearly fifty books—both novels and non-fiction works—as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.

Early Life

Born into the prominent Huxley family, Aldous Leonard Huxley was the third son of Dr. Leonard Huxley, a writer, editor, and teacher, and Julia Arnold, founder of Prior's Field School. He was the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, a zoologist, agnostic, and advocate of Darwin's theory of evolution.

Career

Huxley began his learning in his father's well-equipped botanical laboratory, then went to Eton College. His mother died in 1908, when he was 14. He contracted keratitis punctata which "left [him] practically blind for two to three years." This "ended his early dreams of becoming a scientist."

Huxley completed his first (unpublished) novel at the age of 17 and began writing seriously in his early 20s. He established himself as a prolific writer and social satirist through works such as Crome Yellow (1921), Antic Hay (1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925), and Point Counter Point (1928). His most famous novel, Brave New World (1932), is a dystopian depiction of a future society.

Later Life and Death

In October 1949, Huxley had an experience while on mescaline that he considered more profound than those detailed in The Doors of Perception. In 1953, he wrote to George Orwell, author of Nineteen Eighty-Four, congratulating him on "how fine and how profoundly important the book is." Huxley died on 22 November 1963, aged 69.

Legacy

Huxley's works have had a profound influence on modern thought and literature. His exploration of the human condition and his insights into the dangers of unchecked technological advancement continue to resonate in contemporary discussions.