Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (
UK:
/ˌsæ̃tɪɡˈzuːpɛri/,
[4] US:
/-ɡzuːpeɪˈriː/, French:
[ɑ̃twan də sɛ̃t‿ɛɡzypeʁi]; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of several of France's highest literary awards and also won the
United States National Book Award. He is best remembered for his novella
The Little Prince (
Le Petit Prince) and for his lyrical aviation writings, including
Wind, Sand and Stars and
Night Flight.
Saint-Exupéry was a successful commercial pilot before
World War II, working airmail routes in Europe, Africa, and South America. He joined the
French Air Force at the start of the war, flying reconnaissance missions until
France's armistice with Germany in 1940. After being demobilised by the French Air Force, he travelled to the United States to help persuade its government to enter the war against Nazi Germany.
Saint-Exupéry spent 28 months in America, during which he wrote three of his most important works, then joined the
Free French Air Force in North Africa—although he was far past the maximum age for such pilots and in declining health. He disappeared and is believed to have died while on a reconnaissance mission from
Corsica over the
Mediterranean on 31 July 1944. Although the wreckage of his plane was discovered off the coast of Marseille in 2000, the ultimate cause of the crash remains unknown.
Prior to the war, Saint-Exupéry had achieved fame in France as an aviator. His literary works posthumously boosted his stature to national hero status in France, including
The Little Prince which has been translated into 300 languages. He earned further widespread recognition with international translations of his other works. His 1939 philosophical memoir
Terre des hommes (titled
Wind, Sand and Stars in English) became the name of an
international humanitarian group; it was also used as the central theme of
Expo 67 in Montreal,
Quebec. His birthplace of
Lyon also named its
main airport and adjacent
train station after him.
