Antoine Marie Roger de Saint-Exupery was a French pilot, poet and author. Born in Lyon, France on June 29, 1900, Saint-Exupery dreamt of becoming a naval officer, but was refused admission to the French Naval Academy. Instead, he was called up by the French Air Force in 1921 (though not as a pilot). It was there he found his passion to fly airplanes.
After his stint in the Air Force, Saint-Exupery became a licensed civil pilot in 1927. Shortly thereafter, he landed the job of flying the mail on a difficult and dangerous route from Toulouse, France to Dakar, Morocco.
While stationed in Dakar, Saint-Exupery began writing to relieve the boredom between assignments. Courier Sud (Southern Mail) 1929, became his first published work and was largely autobiographical.
When the company folded in the early 1930's, Saint-Exupery bounced around in several flying and non-flying jobs and continued to write about flying and adventure until France entered the second World War in 1939. He was immediately called into active service and remained in the military until France surrendered in 1940.
He then left France for America and continued to write. His most famous work, Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) 1943, was written during his stay in the United States. When the U.S. entered the war in 1941, Saint-Exuperey joined the American Air Force stationed in north Africa in 1943. He was killed in action July 31st, 1944.
Asteroid 2578 Saind Exupery in 1975 new asteroid was found and named after Exupery.
French aviator and writer, real life hero who looked at adventure and danger with poet's eyes - sometimes from the viewpoint of a child. Saint-Exupéry's most famous work is The Little Prince (1943), which he also illustrated. It has become one of the classics of children's literature of the 20th century. During World War II Saint-Exupéry served as a pilot. He was shot down on a mission over France in 1944.
"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."
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