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Birth
William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He was raised in a 14th-century house next door to a graveyard. His mother, Mildred, was a strong supporter of the British suffragette movement. His father, Alec, was a schoolteacher and an ardent advocate of rationalism. -
Primary School
William received his early education at the school his father ran, Marlborough Grammar School. When William was just 12 years old, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to write a novel. A frustrated child, he found an outlet in bullying his peers. Later in life, William would describe his childhood self as a brat, even going so far as to say, “I enjoyed hurting people.” -
College
Spending five years at Brasenose College, Golding initially studied science according to his father's wishes but later decided to study literature. As a childhood dream of his was to write poetry, Golding wrote poems mocking rationalism, which he criticized increasingly. These poems were then published in Macmillian's Contemporary Poets series . -
Teacher
After college, Golding followed his fathers footsteps and became a teacher. Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. -
Royal Navy
In 1940 Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II. Golding spent around six years in the navy. In 1945, after World War II had ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing. -
Lord Of the Flies
In 1954, after 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies. The novel told the gripping story of a group of adolescent boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane wreck. Lord of the Flies explored the savage side of human nature as the boys, let loose from the constraints of society, brutally turned against one another in the face of an imagined enemy. -
Full time Author
Golding quit his job as a teacher to write full-time. From 1961 onward, Golding wrote many works of fiction and three collections of essays. Golding's most successful novels included Pincher Martin, Free Fall, and The Pyramid. -
Nobel Price
The 1983 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the British author William Golding "for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today". -
Being Knighted
William Golding was a Nobel-prize winning author, most famous for “Lord of the Flies” and Booker Prize winner in 1980 for “Rites of Passage”. He was knighted by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 and made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. -
Death
On June 19, 1993, Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. He died due to a heart attack.