Aldous Huxley

LEONARD HUXLEY 1860-1933 JULIAN HUXLEY 1887-1975 ALDOUS HUXLEY 1894-1963 Men of Science and Letters lived here

Aldous Huxley 1927

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Aldous Huxley 1947

Aldous Leonard 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. Born into the prominent Huxley family, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford with an undergraduate degree in English literature. Early in his career, he published short stories and poetry and edited the literary magazine Oxford Poetry. He is best known for his novels including Brave New World, set in a dystopian future; the non-fiction work The Doors of Perception, which explores his experiences with psychedelic drugs; and a wide range of essays. Throughout his life, Huxley was widely regarded as a prominent intellectual and social critic.

Biography

Early Life

Aldous Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey, England, on 26 July 1894, into a family that included some of the most distinguished members of the British intellectual aristocracy. His grandfather, Thomas Henry Huxley, was a famous biologist who was an ardent advocate for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. His brother, Julian Huxley, was a biologist and the first director of UNESCO.

Education

Huxley was educated at Eton College, where he developed a serious eye illness which nearly blinded him at the age of 16. This incident significantly influenced his vision and his outlook on life, leading him to a career in writing rather than in science. Despite his near-blindness, he managed to study English literature at Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated with first class honours.

Career

After Oxford, Huxley began his career in literature, initially with poetry and editing literary magazines. He soon turned to fiction and published his first novel, Crome Yellow, in 1921. Over the next few decades, Huxley established himself as a leading writer and intellectual. His most famous novel, Brave New World (1932), presents a vision of a future society that is dystopian in nature, where people are conditioned to passively accept their social fate.

In addition to his novels, Huxley also wrote on various subjects including arts, sciences, religion, and philosophy. His work The Doors of Perception (1954), detailing his experiences with mescaline, had a profound influence on the emerging psychedelic culture.

Later Life and Death

In 1937, Huxley moved to the United States, where he would spend the rest of his life. He became a Hollywood screenwriter and contributed to a number of films. His interest in spiritual subjects grew in his later years, leading to works such as The Perennial Philosophy (1945), which explores the commonalities among the world's spiritual traditions.

Huxley died of cancer on 22 November 1963 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 69. His ashes were interred at the family grave in England.

Legacy

Aldous Huxley's legacy as a writer and thinker is significant. His works continue to be read and studied, and his ideas on society, technology, and the human condition remain relevant. Brave New World, in particular, has become a classic of English literature and a prescient commentary on the dangers of unchecked technological and scientific advancement.

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