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J.D. Salinger Home / JDS Biography / JDS Works / JDS Links
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Date of Birth: |
January 1, 1919 |
Place of Birth: |
New York City, NY |
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Spouse: |
Claire Douglas |
Most Famous Works: |
Catcher in the Rye, Nine Stories |
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Children: |
Matthew, Peggy |
First Publication: |
"The Young Folks" in April, 1940; Story Magazine |
Because of J.D. Salinger's insistence on protecting his privacy, there is not much personal information available on him.
Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1, 1919 in New York City, New York. He had an older sister named Doris, and is the only son of Sol and Marie Salinger.
Salinger was a good student in grade school, but was dropped by his prep school for his failing grades. He attended Valley Forge Military Academy, which was the model for his only novel, Catcher in the Rye. It was at Valley Forge where he first began writing stories. After the academy he enrolled in Ursinus University in Pennsylvania, but dropped out after his first semester. He did take a short story writing course there, taught by the publisher of Story magazine. Salinger later has several stories in Story.
Salinger was drafted into the army in 1942, and a member of the Fourth Army division famous for the D-Day invasion. He was injured in the war and hospitalized in Germany for psychiatric treatment. He returned home to the United States in 1947.
In 1955 Salinger married Claire Douglas. They had two children, Matthew and Peggy. They were divorced in 1967.
Today Salinger lives alone in a cottage in New Hampshire. He refuses all interviews, and has not published a novel since the attention from Catcher in the Rye scared him years ago. Many rumors circulate about a new story to be published, the first in thirty years, but it is still just a rumor. J.D. Salinger was in the press most recently along with the name of his former lover, Joyce Maynard. In 1972 the Yale student wrote an article which was read by Salinger. He began to write Joyce letters, declaring the two of them soul mates. She moved in with him, though he ended the relationship in less then a year, saying she had given herself to the world. Twenty five years later, Maynard has written a book about her time with Salinger and auctioned his letters for over 150,000 dollars. The winner of the letters claims he will return them to Salinger.
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