Vladimir Nabokov - Cambridge University, Family and Childhood
Vladimir Nabokov's Personal Details
Vladimir Nabokov was a Russian-born novelist, lepidopterist and chess composer
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | April 22, 1899 |
| Died on | July 2, 1977 |
| Nationality | Russian, Swiss, American |
| Famous | Cambridge University, Trinity College, Cambridge, Writers, Novelists |
| Nick names | Vladimir Sirin |
| Spouses | Vera Nabokov |
| Siblings | Kirill Nabokov - Olga Nabokov - Elena Nabokov - Sergey Nabokov |
| Known as | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov |
| Childrens | Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov |
| Universities |
|
| Notable Alumnis |
|
| Birth Place | Saint Petersburg |
| Born Country | Russia |
| Political Ideology | classical liberal |
| Gender | Male |
| Father | Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov |
| Mother | Elena Ivanovna Rukavishnikov |
| Sun Sign | Taurus |
| Born in | Saint Petersburg |
| Famous as | Novelist |
| Died at Age | 78 |
// Famous Novelists
Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski was a German-born American novelist, short story writer and poet. With this biography, learn in details about his childhood, life, works, career and timeline
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera is a Czech-born French writer known for his erotic and political writings. This biography of Milan Kundera provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir was an eminent French writer, intellectual, activist, and philosopher. This biography profiles her childhood, life, thoughts, achievements and timeline.
Vladimir Nabokov's photo
Who is Vladimir Nabokov?
Vladimir Nabokov was a renowned Russian-American novelist. Stylistic prose, drawing from personal experience, a healthy disdain for comparison, the rejection of individualism, or a successful combination of all of them endeared Vladimir Nabokov to his readers. Sometimes, controversial works of art lose their magic with time. However, this author’s most notoriously famous work has not stopped to fascinate movie makers, playwrights, translators, publishers, critics, reviewers and even the humble reader. Although his earliest works were in Russian, once his works were translated, he became a distinguished author in English as well. A methodical man by nature, his writings are interwoven with complex plots, literary devices and clever word play. There were several instances in his life when he was not satisfied with his output or when he was unable to successfully complete what he set out to write. Paradoxically, he held literary convention in contempt; this is the only point which his critics, continue to focus on. He also received much flak for focusing on language and detail and not on character development as his plot progressed in novels. He was not only a remarkably shrewd author but he was also a distinguished lepidopterist and the creator of a number of chess problems.
// Famous Writers
Joyce Meyer
Joyce Meyer is a Christian author and speaker. This biography provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline
Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin is a well-known American writer, autistic activist and animal expert. This biography profiles her childhood, life, achievements, career and timeline
Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century. This biography of Tennessee Williams provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works and timeline.
Childhood & Early Life
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born to Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov and Elena Ivanovna. His family was of minor nobility and the author enjoyed a near-perfect, privileged childhood. He was the eldest of five children and was trilingual from an early age. He spoke Russian, English and French.
After the family lost its estate to the October Revolution in 1917, the family fled to Crimea, Livadiya, Western Europe and settled briefly in England.
Over there, the author enrolled in Trinity College, Cambridge to study Zoology but changed courses to Slavic and Romance languages.
Career
In 1920, the family moved to Berlin, but after his father’s assassination in 1922, Nabokov’s mother and sister moved to Prague. He however, stayed in Berlin earning a living out of writing, teaching languages and by giving tennis and boxing lessons.
The author’s earliest works include volumes of poetry, such as ‘Stikhi’ (which was published much later), ‘Al'manakh: DvaPuti’, ‘Grozd Gornii Put’, ‘Vozvrashchenie Chorba’, etc., were published under the pseudonym, ‘Vladimir Sirin’. ‘Mashen'ka’ and ‘Korol' Dama Valet’ are two of the important novels he wrote during this time.
In the 1930s, he wrote ‘Zashchita Luzhina’, ‘Kamera Obskura’, ‘Otchayanie’, ‘Priglasheniyenakazn’; ‘Vozvrashchenie Chorba’ and ‘Sogliadatai’ (collections of short stories and poems), and the play ‘Izobretenie Val'sa’.
In 1937, he moved to France from Germany and settled in France. But in 1940 as France was about to fall to Germany during the World War II, the Nabokov family fled to the United States and settled in Manhattan.
He began volunteer work as an entomologist at the ‘American Museum of Natural History’ where he met Edmund Wilson who introduced Nabokov's work to American editors.
In 1941, he joined Wellesley College to serve as resident lecturer in comparative literature. During his tenure he founded the college’s one-man Russian Department and served as the de facto curator of lepidoptery at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.
In the 1940s, his literary output was in English. It includes novels such as, ‘The Real Life of Sebastian Knight’, ‘Bend Sinister’, etc.
His Novel ‘Lolita’ was published in 1955 in Paris and in 1958 in New York t. It achieved never-before-seen critical and commercial acclaim. The book was into its third printing within days and went on to sell 100,000 copies in the first three weeks.
‘Pnin’, ‘Pale Fire’ and ‘Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle’ are some of the noteworthy novels written in the following decades. This prolific writer also published more than 8 volumes of poetry, several shorts stories, translations, and autobiographies.
In 1964, he cemented his stature as a literary critic through the four-volume translation and commentary of Alexander Pushkin's epic, ‘Eugene Onegin’.
An avid lepidopterist for a major part of his life, he organized butterfly collections, wrote extensively on it, helped distinguish species, and hypothesised that a butterfly species flew over the Bering Strait in waves to reach Chile.
In 1969, he authored ‘Poems and Problems’, which included a collection of his poems and 18 chess problems.
From 1970 to 1976, he authored, ‘Transparent Things’, ‘Look at the Harlequins!’, ‘Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories’, ‘Lolita: A Screenplay’ and ‘Details of a Sunset and Other Stories’, before his death.
Major Works
The controversial ‘Lolita’, written in 1955, spawned two film adaptations, one musical, four stage-plays, one completed opera and two ballets. It was also listed on Time’s list of ‘100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005’ and ‘100 Best Novels of the 20th Century and 100 Best Books of All Time’. This is largely regarded as his literary masterpiece.
Awards & Achievements
Although he was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction seven times, he never won it.
In 1963, he was nominated for an Academy Award in the ‘Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium category’.
Personal Life & Legacy
His engagement to Svetlana Siewert broke in early 1923, as her parents worried that he could not provide for her.
He married Vera Evseyevna Sloniminl in 1925; their son, Dmitri, was born eleven years later.
He died in Montreux, in 1977 due to severe bronchial congestion. His remains were cremated and buried at the Clarens Cemetery.
In 2009, ‘The Original of Laura’, his unfinished novel, was published by his son Dmitri.
The PEN/Nabokov Award is awarded biannually by the PEN American Centre to writers, especially novelists. The winner receives a prize of $20,000.
Trivia
When this famous Russian author attempted to burn the initial copy of his would-be best-seller ‘Lolita’, it was his wife Vera, who stopped him.
// Famous Cambridge University
Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry is a comedian, actor, author, television and radio presenter. Read the biography and know all about his childhood, career, profile and timeline.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein is a renowned philosopher. Read on to know about the life, career, and works of the famous Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Rupert Brooke
Rupert Brooke was an English poet who is widely known for his poem ‘The Soldier’, which was a part of five war sonnets. This biography of Rupert Brooke provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline
Vladimir Nabokov biography timelines
- // 1917After the family lost its estate to the October Revolution in 1917, the family fled to Crimea, Livadiya, Western Europe and settled briefly in England.
- // 1922In 1920, the family moved to Berlin, but after his father’s assassination in 1922, Nabokov’s mother and sister moved to Prague. He however, stayed in Berlin earning a living out of writing, teaching languages and by giving tennis and boxing lessons.
- // 1925He married Vera Evseyevna Sloniminl in 1925; their son, Dmitri, was born eleven years later.
- // 1940In 1937, he moved to France from Germany and settled in France. But in 1940 as France was about to fall to Germany during the World War II, the Nabokov family fled to the United States and settled in Manhattan.
- // 1941In 1941, he joined Wellesley College to serve as resident lecturer in comparative literature. During his tenure he founded the college’s one-man Russian Department and served as the de facto curator of lepidoptery at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.
- // 1955His Novel ‘Lolita’ was published in 1955 in Paris and in 1958 in New York t. It achieved never-before-seen critical and commercial acclaim. The book was into its third printing within days and went on to sell 100,000 copies in the first three weeks.
- // 1964In 1964, he cemented his stature as a literary critic through the four-volume translation and commentary of Alexander Pushkin's epic, ‘Eugene Onegin’.
- // 1969In 1969, he authored ‘Poems and Problems’, which included a collection of his poems and 18 chess problems.
- // 1970 To 1976From 1970 to 1976, he authored, ‘Transparent Things’, ‘Look at the Harlequins!’, ‘Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories’, ‘Lolita: A Screenplay’ and ‘Details of a Sunset and Other Stories’, before his death.
// Famous Trinity College, Cambridge
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton was an English scientist and mathematician, who discovered gravitation and Newtonian Mechanics. Read this biography to find more on his life.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley was an occultist and ceremonial magician who founded the ethical philosophy of Thelema. This biography of Aleister Crowley provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Thackeray was an English novelist and satirist. Read this brief biography to find more on his life & timeline.
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who made significant contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, and continued fractions. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline. .
Jared Diamond
Jared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and author reputed for his highly acclaimed and popular science books.
J. J. Thomson
J.J. Thomson was an English physicist and mathematician. This biography profiles his childhood, life, academic career, research and timeline.
Vladimir Nabokov's FAQ
What is Vladimir Nabokov birthday?
Vladimir Nabokov was born at 1899-04-22
When was Vladimir Nabokov died?
Vladimir Nabokov was died at 1977-07-02
Where was Vladimir Nabokov died?
Vladimir Nabokov was died in Montreux
Which age was Vladimir Nabokov died?
Vladimir Nabokov was died at age 78
Where is Vladimir Nabokov's birth place?
Vladimir Nabokov was born in Saint Petersburg
What is Vladimir Nabokov nationalities?
Vladimir Nabokov's nationalities is Russian, Swiss, American
What is Vladimir Nabokov nick names?
Vladimir Nabokov's nickNames is Vladimir Sirin
Who is Vladimir Nabokov spouses?
Vladimir Nabokov's spouses is Vera Nabokov
Who is Vladimir Nabokov siblings?
Vladimir Nabokov's siblings is Kirill Nabokov - Olga Nabokov - Elena Nabokov - Sergey Nabokov
Who is Vladimir Nabokov childrens?
Vladimir Nabokov's childrens is Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov
What was Vladimir Nabokov universities?
Vladimir Nabokov studied at Cambridge University,Trinity College, Cambridge, BA French and Russian Literature, Trinity College, Cambridge University (1922)
What was Vladimir Nabokov notable alumnis?
Vladimir Nabokov's notable alumnis is Cambridge University, Trinity College, Cambridge
What is Vladimir Nabokov's political ideology?
Vladimir Nabokov's political ideology is classical liberal
Who is Vladimir Nabokov's father?
Vladimir Nabokov's father is Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov
Who is Vladimir Nabokov's mother?
Vladimir Nabokov's mother is Elena Ivanovna Rukavishnikov
What is Vladimir Nabokov's sun sign?
Vladimir Nabokov is Taurus
How famous is Vladimir Nabokov?
Vladimir Nabokov is famouse as Novelist