By Stephanie Ball

Ernest Hemingway was born July 2, 1899, in Oak Park, Ill, to Clarence and Grace Hemingway. He was raised in Chicago but also spent time at the family cabin in Michigan, where his admiration of hunting, fishing and the great outdoors began.

In high school, Hemingway worked as a reporter for the school newspaper, Trapeze and Tabula. After he graduated, Hemingway worked for the Kansas City Star, where he acquired experience that led to his concise prose style. Hemingway joined World War I as an ambulance volunteer in the Italian army and was later wounded after serving in the front lines. After the war, he worked at the Toronto Star in Michigan and met Hadley Richardson, whom he married. The couple moved to Paris, where Hemingway worked as foreign correspondent for the Star. He met great writers of his generation in Paris – including F. Scott Fitzgerald. Hemingway attended The Festival of San Fermin in Spain, which provided the basis for his novel “The Sun Also Rises.” He finished his World War I novel, “A Farewell to Arms,” in 1929.

When Hemingway wasn’t writing, he spent his time fishing and hunting in Africa. He was also a reporter in the Spanish Civil War. In 1951, he wrote “The Old Man and the Sea,” which won a Pulitzer Prize. He died on July 2, 1961.