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Birth
William Golding was born in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He lived and was raised in a house nearby a graveyard. Mildred, William's mother, fought for women's rights and Alex, his father worked in a school. -
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Early Childhood
William went to the school his father ran, which was Marlborough Grammar School. There he received his early education. At the age of 12, he attempted to write a novel, but was unsuccessful. Frustrated as a child, he bullied other kids. His father influenced many decisions that he made before he went off to college. -
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College
William Golding began attending Brasenose College at Oxford. He studied science because his father had wanted him to. However, in his third year in college, he followed his interests and switched to literature. William has always wanted to write poetry. A year before he graduated, he published his first work, Poem, a book of poetry. In 1935, he graduated from Oxford with a bachelor of Arts in English and a diploma in education. -
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After College
William worked as an actor, writer, and producer with a small theater in London. He paid his bills working as a social worker. He considered that theater was his strongest literary influence. -
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Career
William Golding began teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury at Bishop Wordsworth's School. During that same year, he married Ann Brookfield and had two children. He temporarily left teaching in 1940 to join the Royal Navy for 5 years during World War II. In 1954, he published his first novel, Lord of the Flies. He stayed at Bishop Wordsworth School and taught there until 1961 when he left to write full time. -
Nobel Prize for Literature
In 1983, William Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his classic, Lord of the Flies. -
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Achievements and Death
In 1988, Queen Elizabeth knighted William Golding. 5 years later in 1993, he died in Perranarworthal, Cornwall from a heart attack.