Upton Sinclair: 1878-1968

Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 20, 1878. His family came from the ruined Southern aristocracy. His father drank himself to death.

Sinclair started to write dime novels at the age of 15. In 1897 he enrolled at Columbia University.

In 1900 Sinclair married, but the unhappy marriage ended in divorce in 1911. During the first years of his marriage, Sinclair lived in poverty. After the birth of their son, David, their financial situation became even worse, but Sinclair refused to consider any other work than writing.

With financial help from friends Sinclair started to write a trilogy about the American Civil War.

As a young writer Sinclair gained fame in 1906 with the novel "The Jungle," a report on the dirty conditions in the Chicago meat packing industry. The book won Sinclair fame and fortune.

In 1912 Sinclair traveled in Europe with his son.

From 1915 on Sinclair lived in Pasadena, California, and from 1953 in Buckeye, a remote Arizona village. At the age of 24 he joined the Socialist Party.

Throughout his life Sinclair was famous for his careless attitude towards his appearance - his wife once complained that during their 50-year marriage he bought only one suit.

Sinclair died in his sleep on November 25, 1968