Albert Camus
Albert Camus (November 7, 1913 - January 4, 1960) was an influential French philosopher, author, and journalist who is chiefly known for his work on existentialism. Some of his most famous works include The Stranger, The Plague, The Rebel, and The Myth of Sisyphus. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. In Camus' atheistic view, human beings lack any purpose, and merely exist in a cold and hostile universe.
Life
Camus was born in Mondovi, French Algeria on November 7, 1913, to Luciene Auguste and Catherine Marie Camus. Luciene Camus was killed in action at The Battle of the Marne in 1914, after which Albert's mother and older brother moved to Algiers to move in with relatives. There, Camus' mother worked in an ammunition plant and cleaned houses. While living in poverty, Camus was an excellent student and won a scholarship to the Grand Lycee, a prestigious high school.
After receiving his degree in philosophy from the University of Algiers in 1936, Camus became involved in the French Communist party. However, he gradually grew disillusioned and eventually was expelled, accused of being a "Trotskyite". Later on he was associated with anarchist organizations.
While a pacifist during the outbreak of World War II, once France was overrun by the Nazis, Camus joined the French Resistance, adopting the alias "Beauchard." He wrote for the underground newspaper Combat, and reported on the liberation of Paris in 1945.
Camus died in a car accident on January 4, 1960.
References
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