Gore Vidal
Source: Web (nytimes.com)
Literature & Poetry • Historical Archive • 🇺🇸 United States • 8 views

Gore Vidal 🇺🇸

Eugene Luther Gore Vidal
Novelist, Essayist, Playwright, Public Intellectual
Born Oct 03, 1925 🇺🇸 West Point, United States
Passed Away Jul 31, 2012 Los Angeles, United States
Lifespan 86 years old
8 views
Notice / Correction
"It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail."

Archival Overview

Iconic American novelist, essayist, and razor-witted public intellectual whose historical novels (Lincoln, Burr) and piercing political critiques dissected the American empire.

Biographical Record

Eugene Luther Gore Vidal was born at West Point, the grandson of blind U.S. Senator Thomas Gore. His third novel, 'The City and the Pillar' (1948), caused a national scandal as the first mainstream American novel to depict homosexuality without moral condemnation.

Vidal dominated American intellectual life as a master essayist and historical fabulist with his seven-volume 'Narratives of Empire' cycle (including 'Burr' and 'Lincoln'). Renowned for his aristocratic disdain, peerless wit, and fiery televised debates with William F. Buckley Jr. and Norman Mailer, he won the National Book Award in 1993 for 'United States: Essays 1952–1992'.

Key Life Milestones

1973

Publication of Burr

Published the brilliant historical novel deconstructing America's Founding Fathers through the sardonic voice of Aaron Burr.

1993

National Book Award for Nonfiction

Won the National Book Award for United States: Essays 1952–1992, showcasing four decades of unsparing cultural criticism.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Rock Creek Cemetery
Washington, D.C., United States
GPS: 38.9478, -77.0117
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