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Clive Staples Lewis is born
He was born in Belfast, Ireland. His parents were Albert Lewis & Florence Hamilton Lewis. His brother, Warren was three years older. image url: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/Little_Lea.JPG -
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Life of C.S. Lewis
The official web site of C.S. LewisClive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University. Lewis wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. -
Point of Reference: Queen Victoria dies
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Mother died/ education
His mother died of cancer just before his 10th birthday. He enrolled in Wynard School, Watford, Hertfordshire. Later in 1910, he was enrolled in a boarding school at Campbell College, Belfast close to home. In 1914, he ws tutored by W.T. Kirkpatrick until April 1917. During this time, he read George MacDonald's "Phantastes" which sparked his imagination and impressed him with a deep sense of the holy.
image url: http://tipton.house.gov/sites/tipton.house.gov/files/styles/section_front_boilerp -
Point of Reference: Titanic sinks
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World War I: Battle of Arras
Lewis was a student at Oxford during the war until he enlisted in the British Army 3 years after the war started. He was commisssioned an officer in the 3rd Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry, on September 25 and reached the front line in the Somme Valley in France on this 19th birthday. He was wounded on April 15 in the battle of Arras. He returned to duty after he healed. His friend Paddy Moore was killed in battle.
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"Death in Battle" poem/ continued studies
From January 1919 until June 1924, he returned to his studies at University Collge, Oxford where he received numerous accolades.
The poem can be read in its entirety at
http://grimbeorn.blogspot.com/2013/11/death-in-battle-by-c-s-lewis.html' >Death in Battle poem</a> -
Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford
Lewis was elected a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he served as tutor in English Language and Literature for 29 years. He left for Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1954.
image url: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSaXNH8MQVg/TkwrlKGb66I/AAAAAAAAALU/e1p39FQErc4/s1600/Oxfordshire%2C+Oxford%2C+Magdalen+College.jpg -
Christian Conversion
Lewis became a Christian as a result of a discussion with J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugh Dyson. The next day after musing over the conversation Lewis says, "When we set out to the zoo I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, when we reached the zoo I did." (www.cslewis.org/resource/chronocsl/) image url http://media.salon.com/2012/12/shutterstock_70215502.jpg -
J.R.R.Tolkien/ "Inklings"
Lewis meets with a circle of friends dubbed the "Inklings". '"ling" means one connected with so "ink-ling" was very appropriate for a group of writers. For 16 years through 1949, they met several times per week at the "Eagle and the Child" pub or in his room at Magdalen. It was an informal literary discussion group. Clockwise from upper left: JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield
image url: http://notablewomen.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/meet-the-inklings.jpg -
Point of Reference: World War II begins.
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Screwtape Letters
The Guardian published 31 "Screwtape Letters" in weekly installments. Lewis earned 2 pounds sterling for each and gave the money to charity. These letters were collected into the popular book by that name and is still performed in theaters today. image url: http://www.nashvillescene.com/imager/cs-lewis-the-screwtape-letters/b/original/2778458/9856/screwtape-letters.jpg -
appears on cover of TIME magazine
The article describes how Lewis had become quite popular because he had a talent for putting old-fashioned truths into a modern idiom. He had made 29 radio broadcasts on religious subjects, each to an average of 600,000 listeners. To read ariticle: http://toalltheworld.blogspot.com/2012/04/c-s-lewis-cover-story-in-time-magazine.html image url:
http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1947/1101470908_400.jpg -
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" published
This first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series became extremely popular and one of Lewis's most enduring and beloved books. TIME magazine included the novel in its "All-TIME 100 Novels." The Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies to date. image url: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/files/2012/06/LionWardrobe12.jpg -
Point of Reference: Tolkien publishes "Lord of the Rings"
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Point of Reference: U.S.S.R. launches "Sputnik" into orbit
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Married Joy Gresham
He married Joy Gresham to confer on her the status of British citizenship so authorites would not deport her. Shortly after, she found she had cancer and by December, Lewis found he loved her. He married her at her hospital bedside in accordance with the rites of the Church of England. She died in image url: https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Jack-and-Joy-C.S.-Lewis-and-Joy-Davidman- -
Death of C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis died one week before his 65th birthday: the same day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. His grave is in the yard of the Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, Oxford. His brother, Warren, died almost 10 years later. image url: http://blogs.georgefox.edu/president/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/lewis_grave.jpg
