Biography of Aldous Huxley
By Skylor Matchett
Aldous Leonard Huxley was born in Surrey, England in the year 1894. Aldous Huxley was born into a very prominent family whose members made great advances in both the scientific and literary fields. Aldous’s grandfather was Thomas Henry Huxley, the man who helped develop the Theory of Evolution. Aldous’s aunt, Mrs. Humphrey Ward was a novelist; his great uncle, Matthew Arnold, was a poet; and his great grandfather, Thomas Arnold was Headmaster of Rugby School.
With such an intelligent and rich ancestry, Huxley was obligated to carry on his family’s name. This came with great ease however for the boy was naturally curious and excelled in all of his studies. He enjoyed learning about new things and writing about them in letters. He would also participate in adult conversations; comprehending much more than what was expected of him. His peers knew he was smart too, for he would at often times “upstage them”. One little girl once said to a teacher “I did not realize then that I would be expected to excel the grandson of the great T. H. Huxley!” (Bedford 5).
Society as a whole thought very highly of the young Aldous as well; Aldous was a very well-tempered boy who exercised complete control over his emotions. He was praised for his ability to judge without bias, his fondness for literature, and general knowledge. Aldous fit well into the mold which his family had made.
Aldous was a very confident boy who went to Eton College and excelled in his classes. He took a wide variety of courses but stood out from his peers in Greek, Latin, and English. The headmaster at Eton recognized Aldous’s potential early on in his career.
In his second term at Eton, Aldous began having vision problems. The staff at Eton assumed it was pink eye and that it would go away on its own; however, Aldous vision got worse and worse. He could barely distinguish light from dark, let alone read. By the time Aldous was diagnosed with keratitis punctate (an inflammation of the cornea), the damage was already done; Aldous faced his near blindness with courage and did not let it impede his thirst for knowledge.
With time his vision recovered enough for him to attend Oxford University and continue his studies. In 1916, Aldous published his first work: a collection of poems and married Maria Nys. A year later, the two had their first child and spent most of the early twenties traveling throughout Europe, especially in Italy. Then in 1925, they began traveling the world, going places such as India and the United States; they experienced a great array of different cultures along their journeys. Huxley liked the happiness and elegance that accompanied life in America; he witnessed Mussolini’s fascist government grip the nation of Italy first hand, and he saw how the caste system of India influenced its people’s lives. Huxley wrote his Brave New World in 1931.
With such an intelligent and rich ancestry, Huxley was obligated to carry on his family’s name. This came with great ease however for the boy was naturally curious and excelled in all of his studies. He enjoyed learning about new things and writing about them in letters. He would also participate in adult conversations; comprehending much more than what was expected of him. His peers knew he was smart too, for he would at often times “upstage them”. One little girl once said to a teacher “I did not realize then that I would be expected to excel the grandson of the great T. H. Huxley!” (Bedford 5).
Society as a whole thought very highly of the young Aldous as well; Aldous was a very well-tempered boy who exercised complete control over his emotions. He was praised for his ability to judge without bias, his fondness for literature, and general knowledge. Aldous fit well into the mold which his family had made.
Aldous was a very confident boy who went to Eton College and excelled in his classes. He took a wide variety of courses but stood out from his peers in Greek, Latin, and English. The headmaster at Eton recognized Aldous’s potential early on in his career.
In his second term at Eton, Aldous began having vision problems. The staff at Eton assumed it was pink eye and that it would go away on its own; however, Aldous vision got worse and worse. He could barely distinguish light from dark, let alone read. By the time Aldous was diagnosed with keratitis punctate (an inflammation of the cornea), the damage was already done; Aldous faced his near blindness with courage and did not let it impede his thirst for knowledge.
With time his vision recovered enough for him to attend Oxford University and continue his studies. In 1916, Aldous published his first work: a collection of poems and married Maria Nys. A year later, the two had their first child and spent most of the early twenties traveling throughout Europe, especially in Italy. Then in 1925, they began traveling the world, going places such as India and the United States; they experienced a great array of different cultures along their journeys. Huxley liked the happiness and elegance that accompanied life in America; he witnessed Mussolini’s fascist government grip the nation of Italy first hand, and he saw how the caste system of India influenced its people’s lives. Huxley wrote his Brave New World in 1931.
References
A., Matthew. (2009) “The Complete Works of Aldous Huxley.” Aldous Huxley-soma.org. 23 April. 2009. Web. 2 April 2014.
Bedford, Sybille. Aldous Huxley A Biography. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. Book.
Huxley, Aldous. Selected Letters of Aldous Huxley. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2007. Book.
Bedford, Sybille. Aldous Huxley A Biography. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. Book.
Huxley, Aldous. Selected Letters of Aldous Huxley. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2007. Book.