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Born
Samuel Beckett was born in Dublin, Ireland to parents William Frank Beckett and Maria Jones Roe -
Elementary and Middle School
Young Samuel attended Earlsfort House School in Dublin from 1911-1919 -
High School
At age 14 he went to Portora Royal School, the same school attended by Oscar Wilde -
Enter College
He enters Trinity College and studies the Romance languages or French and Italian -
Graduation
He received his Bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in 1927 and was awarded a two-year post as lecteur in English at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France -
Influences
Though they did have a falling out James Joyce influenced Beckett a lot and was the reason why Beckett started to write. They met through a mutual friend in 1928 and Beckett helped Joyce out with Finnegans Wake -
Dream of Fair to Middling Women
This is Samuel Beckett's first novel and is the story of a young man's adventures, amours, and entanglements in pre-war Dublin. -
Finally settling down
Beckett settles in Paris, France after spending quite a bit of time just moving around. -
How he met Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil
He met her after he was attacked by a pimp on the streets of Paris. She visited him often while he was recuperating in the hospital and the two grew very close to each other -
Stabbed
After he rejected the solicitations of a pimp, Beckett was attacked with a knife. The wound was serious – Beckett ended up with a perforated lung – but he later dropped the charges. partly because he liked the man’s response when Beckett asked him why he had stabbed him: ‘Je ne sais pas, Monsieur. Je m’excuse -
Helped the French Resistance during WW2
In World War II, Beckett and his future wife participated in the French Resistance to fight against the Nazi occupation of France. Translating documents and using his apartment as an information drop, Beckett risked arrest to fight the Nazis. -
Award for his bravery during WW2
The French government gave Beckett the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) and Médaille de la Résistance (Medal of the Resistance) for his courage. -
First Play written
He wrote his first play called Eleutheria however it wasn't published while he was alive and instead was published after his passing against the wishes of his family. It was a cause for great controversy. -
Waiting for Godot
This is the first play of Samuel Beckett that brought the artist his first real public success both in and outside of France. It was written in 1948-49 but was not performed until 1953 in Paris. It is his most famous play. -
Endgame
Published just a few years after Waiting for Godot, this play was first performed in French in London. The play is set after an apocalyptic disaster and is another huge hit for Beckett. -
Krapp's Last Tape
It is a one-act play, written in English, in 1958. It was written after being inspired by Beckett’s experience of listening to Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee’s reading. -
Obie Award
He won this award for his plays Endgame, Happy days and Not I. He won this award for Best Foreign Play -
Happy Days
This is a play in two acts and received major positive remarks from the critics. It was named in The Independent as one of the 40 best plays of all time and forms a major allegory of the misery of the human condition. -
Marriage
Samuel marries Suzanne Deschevaux-Dumesnil in a secret ceremony and never divorced -
Wins Nobel Prize
He got the Nobel Prize for Literature but did not go in person to receive the award and instead his publisher accepted it on his behalf -
Quote
Beckett’s words from his 1983 novella Worstward Ho: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” -
Death
Samuel Beckett died of respiratory problems just a few months after his wife, He died in Paris, France. His wife died in July -
Bridge named after him
In December 2009, Beckett’s nephew and niece were present at the Samuel Beckett Bridge opening ceremony in Dublin. Suspended over the River Liffey, the bridge has a series of 31 cables that make it look like a giant harp. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava -
Sources
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/77726/12-tragicomic-facts-about-samuel-beckett
https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/samuel-beckett
https://victorian-era.org/victorian-authors/samuel-beckett-biography/top-7-plays-by-samuel-beckett.html?expand_article=1
https://samuelbeckettsociety.org/biography/#:~:text=Also%2C%20in%201947%2C%20he%20wrote,wishes%20of%20the%20Beckett%20estate.
https://samuelbeckettsociety.org/biography/