Contents
E-mail Me
(I am not Kurt Vonnegut,
nor am I in any way
related or connected to
him)
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Life at a Glance
To find what happened toKurt in a particular year, or to find when he published aparticular book, select "Find" from the "Edit"menu, and enter what you would like to search for.
| Year | His Life | His Works |
| 1922 | Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is born November 11 to Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. (architect) and Edith Lieber in Indianapolis, Indiana | |
| 1940 | Graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis | Editor of school's newspaper |
| 1940- 1942 | Attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he studied biochemistry | Wrote for Cornell Sun |
| 1942 | Enlisted in U.S. Army as an Infantry Battalion Scout; Trained as Mechanical Engineer at Carnegie Institute and University of Tennessee | |
| 1944 | Edith Lieber Vonnegut commits suicide May 14, Kurt returns home briefly; Kurt captured in December during Battle of the Bulge | |
| 1945 | Sent to Dresden, Germany, to work in factory producing vitamins for pregnant women; survives firebombing of Dresden (February 13); rescued by Russians May 22 | This experience is the basis for Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) |
| 1945 | Married Jane Marie Cox September 1 | |
| 1945- 1947 | Worked as police reporter for Chicago News Bureau; studied Anthropology at University of Chicago (His master's thesis was rejected) | |
| 1947- 1950 | Son Mark (1947) and daughter Edith (1949) are born; Worked as publicist for General Electric in Schenectady, NY | |
| 1950 | Quit GE and moved to Cape Cod to write | First short story published in February 11 issue of Collier's |
| 1952 | First novel, Player Piano, published | |
| 1954- 1956 | Daughter Nanette is born (1954); Taught English at Hopefield School; worked for ad agency; opened first Saab dealership in the U.S. | Utopia-14 published, a re-titled edition of Player Piano (1954) |
| 1957 | Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. dies October 1 | |
| 1958- 1959 | Sister and brother-in-law die, Kurt adopts three oldest children | The Sirens of Titan is published (1959) |
| 1961 | Collection of short stories, Canary in a Cat House, published | |
| 1962 | Mother Night is published | |
| 1963 | Cat's Cradle is published | |
| 1965- 1967 | Residency at University of Iowa Writers Workshop | God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine, is published (1965) |
| 1967 | Went to Dresden on Guggenheim Fellowship | Researched Slaughterhouse-Five |
| 1968 | Second collection of short stories, Welcome to the Monkey House, published | |
| 1969 | Slaughterhouse-Five is published | |
| 1970 | Taught Creative Writing at Harvard | Wrote Happy Birthday, Wanda June for Broadway |
| 1971 | Received Master's degree from University of Chicago for Cat's Cradle; moved to New York City | |
| 1972 | Son Mark suffers schizophrenic breakdown; Elected vice-president of P.E.N. American Center; member of National Institute of Arts and Letters | Son's breakdown basis for The Eden Express; Between Time and Timbuktu, or Prometheus-5 published; Slaughterhouse-Five produced as movie |
| 1973 | Appointed Distinguished Professor of English Prose by City University of New York | Breakfast of Champions is published |
| 1974 | Awarded honorary Doctorate of Literature by Hobart and William Smith College | Collection of essays and speeches, Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons, is published |
| 1976 | Slapstick; Or, Lonesome No More published | |
| 1977 | First grandchild, Zachary, is born | |
| 1979 | Divorces Jane, marries Jill Kremetz on November 24 | Jailbird is published |
| 1980 | One man exhibition of his drawings | Children's Christmas story, Sun Moon Star, is published |
| 1981 | Autobiography, Palm Sunday, is published | |
| 1982 | Deadeye Dick is published | |
| 1984 | Kurt attempts suicide | |
| 1985 | Galápagos is published | |
| 1986 | Speaks at National Coalition Against Censorship briefing for Attorney General's Commission on Pornography hearing | |
| 1987 | Bluebeard is published | |
| 1990 | Hocus Pocus is published | |
| 1991 | Divorces Jill Kremetz in June | Collection of essays and speeches, Fates Worse than Death: An Autobiographical Collage of the 1980's, is published |
| 1997 | Timequake is published | |
| 2007 | Passed away at the age of 84 on April 11, 2007, in Manhattan, New York, after a fall at his Manhattan home several weeks prior resulted in irreversible brain injuries. |
© 1997-2005 Steven Lustbader