Biographical Sketch of Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 11, 1922, a day then celebrated as "Armistice Day," now called "Veterans Day," and a day destined to figure in Vonnegut's fiction. Kurt Junior was the third child born to Kurt Senior and Edith Sophia Lieber Vonnegut. Kurt Senior was a third-generation German-American, son of an architect, and himself an architect. He also painted.

Expected to become a scientist, Vonnegut chose to major in biochemistry when he entered Cornell University in 1940. In 1942 Vonnegut became editor of the Cornell Sun. He later transferred to Carnegie Institute of Technology and was in his junior year when he was inducted into the army.

By now the Vonnegut's were bringing up three children of their own: Mark, Edith, and Nanette. In 1957, Vonnegut's sister Alice died and the author adopted her three boys: James, Steven, and Kurt Adams.

1970 was in some respects Vonnegut's best year, and certainly a year of profound self-revaluation. He had seven books (six novels and a collection of short pieces) in print in both hardcover and paperback, he finally reached the theatre capital with a full-length play, and he taught at Harvard. But he felt that he was undergoing a profound change, giving up fiction and going over into the dramatic media.