Aldous Huxley

Timeline

Birth Julian


Birth of his elder brother Julian who was to become a famous biologist.
1887

Birth Trevenen


Birth of his brother Trevenen.

1891

Birth Aldous


Birth of Aldous Leonard Huxley on 26th July; son of Leonard and Julia Huxley (Arnold).

1894

Death grandfather


Death of Thomas Henry Huxley, Aldous Huxley’s grandfather.

1895

Preparatory School


Huxley at Hillside Preparatory School (until June 1908).

1903

Death mother


Huxley starts at Eton; his mother, Julia Huxley (Arnold) dies on 28th November.
1908

Keratitis punctata


Huxley suffers an attack of keratitis punctata, which makes his eyesight so bad that he needs to learn braille. He recovers some vision later.
1910

Marries R. Bruce


Leonard Huxley marries Rosalind Bruce; Aldous spends time in Marburg perfecting his German.
1912

Balliol College


Enrols in Balliol College, Oxford.

1913

Suicide Trevenen


Huxley’s favourite brother, Trevenen, commits suicide. Huxley lives with the Haldanes, a family of famous scientists.
1914

Meets Marie Nys


Huxley is invited to Lady Ottoline Morrell’s salon at Garsington where he meets D.H Lawrence and his future wife, Marie Nys; publishes first poems in Oxford Poetry.

1915

The Burning Wheel


He is officially unfit for service in the First World War. The Burning Wheel, his first volume of poetry is published. He teaches briefly at Eton. Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell) is one of his first pupils; Huxley proposes to Marie Nys, a Belgian war refugee.

1916

Social service


Jonah, Christmas card, December; Huxley does social service at Garsington Manor, where he meets several notable people from the Bloomsbury Group, such as Bertrand Russell, Clive Bell, Katherine Mansfield, T.S Elliot, Viriginia Woolf, Siegfried Sassoon, and Robert Graves.

1917

The Defeat of Youth


Huxley is employed by the Air Board and publishes his first volume of poetry, The Defeat of Youth.

1918

Marries Maria Nys


He marries Maria Nys and works for The Anthenaeum, run by John Middleton Murry.

1919

Birth child


Birth of his only child Matthew Huxley; Limbo, first collection of short fiction; Leda, poetry.

1920

Travels extensively


He lives in Italy and England, travels extensively to France, India and the USA.
1920's

«Crome Yellow»

Crome Yellow


Crome Yellow, first novel, written in Forte dei Marmi in Italy.

1921

Mortal Coils


Mortal Coils, short stories.

1922

Antic Hay


Antic Hay, novel; On the Margin, essays.

1923

Little Mexican


Little Mexican, short stories. The Discovery (adaptation of a play by Sheridan).

1924

Those Barren Leaves


Those Barren Leaves, novel; Along the Road, travel book. Huxley embarks on a world trip to India, Southeast Asia, and the USA.

1925

Two or Three Graces


Two or Three Graces, short stories; Essays New and Old; Jesting Pilate, travel book.

1926

Proper Studies


Proper Studies, essays.

1927

Point Counter Point


Point Counter Point, novel.

1928

Arabia Infelix


Moves to Sanary-sur-Mer, France. Arabia Infelix, poetry. Do What You Will, essays.

1929

Brief Candles


Brief Candles, short stories. Vulgarity in Literature, essay; death of D.H Lawrence, one of Huxley’s closest friends.

1930

Brave New World


He writes his most famous work Brave New World within four months. The Cicadas, poetry; Music at Night, essays; The World of Light, play.

1931

Brave New World


Brave New World, novel; Texts and Pretexts, anthology; Now More Than Ever, play; The letters of D.H. Lawrence, edited by Huxley; Huxley embarks on a world trip to the West Indies and South America.

1932

Beyond the Mexique Bay


Beyond the Mexique Bay, travel book; Huxley endures a physical and mental crisis.

1934

Therapy


Undergoes therapy with F.H Alexander; joins the Peace Pledge Union led by Dick Sheppard.

1935

«Eyeless in Gaza»

Eyeless in Gaza


Eyeless in Gaza, novel; The Olive Tree, essays; several pacifist essays and pamphlets.

1936

Ends and Means


Moves to the United States of America and lives in Hollywood, Los Angeles with his wife and son; lecture tour with Gerald Heard; Ends and Means, essays.

1937

Screenwriter


Huxley becomes a screenwriter for the Hollywood movie industry; works on a film script about Marie Curie.

1938

After Many a Summer


After Many a Summer, novel.

1939

Pride and Prejudice


Pride and Prejudice, screenplay. Lives in Llano, California desert country.

1940

Grey Eminence


Grey Eminence, fictional biography.

1941

The Art of Seeing


The Art of Seeing, a book on the Bates Method; Jane Eyre, screenplay.

1942

Bhagavad Gita


Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God, translated by Swami Prabhavanada and Christopher Isherwood; Time Must Have a Stop, novel.

1944

The Perennial Philosophy


The Perennial Philosophy, anthology; Science, Liberty and Peace, essay.

1945

Ape and Essence


Ape and Essence, novel; A Woman’s Vengeance, screenplay.

1948

Nineteen Eighty-Four


Huxley writes to George Orwell complimenting him on his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Huxleys move to Los Angeles.

1949

Themes and Variations


Themes and Variations, essays.

1950

The Devils of Loudun


The Devils of Loudun, fictional biography.

1952

Mescaline


The psychiatrist Humphry Osmond introduces Huxley to mescaline.

1953

«The Doors of Perception»

The Doors of Perception


The Doors of Perception. Jim Morrison of the famous Rock-band, The Doors, named the band after Huxley’s title – a quote from William Blake.

1954

LSD


Huxley takes his first dose of the psychedelic drug LSD on Christmas Eve. His first wife Maria dies of breast cancer. The Genius and the Goddess, novel.

1955

Marries 2nd wife


He marries his second wife Laura Archera, a writer, psychologist and concert violinist. Heaven and Hell essay; Adonis and the Alphabet, essays.

1956

Brave New World Revisited


Brave New World Revisited, essays, which discuss problems such as overpopulation and the likelihood of Brave New World becoming a reality.

1958

The Human Situation


Santa Barbara lectures on The Human Situation.

1959

Cancer


Huxley is diagnosed with laryngeal cancer.

1960

Bushfire


Huxley’s house with his complete library burns down in a bushfire.

1961

Human Potentialities


Lectures on Human Potentialities at the Esalen Institute; lecturer at Berkeley.

1962

Island


Island, his last novel.

1962

Aldous Huxley dies


Literature and Science, essay; on his deathbed he writes a note to Laura to administer LSD. He dies about one hour before the assassination of President John F Kennedy. (C.S. Lewis also dies on the same day).

1963

The Beatles


The Beatles release the critically acclaimed feature length movie and album, Help! The actual song, Help, even contains the lyric: “I’ve changed my mind, I’ve opened up the doors.” It has been suggested this was in fact a homage to the late Huxley. In fact, if you look carefully, Aldous Huxley’s portrait can also be seen the cover of their legendary 1966 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This just goes to show how much his influence resonated throughout music and cultural movements.

1965

This Timeless Moment


Laura, his second wife, writes This Timeless Moment, a biography of Aldous Huxley.

1968

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