Aldous Leonard Huxley was born July 26, 1894 into a distinguished literary and sceintific family.
Huxley's original intent was to pursue medicine, however an eye ailment he acquired at age 16 prevented that pursuit and while still a student at Oxford, turned to literature, publishing two volumes of poetry. His reputation as an author was firmly established in 1921 with the release of his first novel, Crome Yellow.
Huxley's early novels were mostly comic satires. In later writings, he threw a critical eye upon western civilization. His most esteemed work, A Brave New World, is a frighteningly satiric look at a society controlled by technology, where art and religion have been completely forgotten. Huxley was basically a moral philosopher, using his novels to put into the mainstream his ideas.
In 1947, Huxley moved to southern California and continued to write, mostly essays and philosophical pieces.
Huxley was dead-set against conformity and renounced the mainstream attitudes of his era while his tremendous intellect and and palpability of his writing make him a most memorable voice of the 20th century.
Aldous Huxley passed away on November 22, 1963.