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Anton Chekhov Facts

Anton Chekhov Facts
Anton Chekhov was a Russian writer who became known as one of history's greatest short story masters and playwrights. He was born Anton Pavlovich Chekhov on January 29th, 1860 in Taganrog in the Russian Empire. His father was Pavel Yegorovich Chekhov, a grocer, and his mother was Yevgeniya Chekhov, a woman said to have had an amazing gift for telling stories, which she often did to her six children. Anton's father bankrupted the family by making poor financial decisions and when the family moved to Moscow so his father could avoid debtor's prison, Anton stayed behind in Taganrog to attend school. To pay for his education Anton made money in a variety of ways, including selling short comic pieces to newspapers.
Interesting Anton Chekhov Facts:
Anton Chekhov went to Moscow in 1879 after being accepted to I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. He became a physician in 1884.
Although Anton Chekhov became a physician he often treated patients for free and earned money from his writing.
Anton Chekhov began coughing up blood in 1884 and 1885 but refused to tell his family that he had tuberculosis.
In 1887 Anton Chekhov won the Pushkin Prize for his short story collection At Dusk.
After a trip to Ukraine in 1887, Anton wrote the novella-length short piece titled The Steppe. His story was published in Severny Vestnik, a literary journal.
In 1887 Anton was asked to write a play, which he wrote and titled Ivanov. It was produced and it became a hit.
In 1889 Anton's brother Nikolay died from tuberculosis. Anton wrote A Dreary Story, a short story about a man who has reached the end of his life and realizes he had no purpose.
Anton began to search for purpose in his own life after Nikolay's death and focused on prison reform. His findings after a trip to a prison on an island north of Japan resulted in a social science piece titled Ostrov Sakhalin (Island of Sakhalin) published in 1893 and 1894.
Anton Chekhov bought a country estate in 1892 called Melikhovo. While there he began organizing relief efforts for those affected by cholera and famine. He built a clinic, fire station and three schools to help the local peasants. He also donated his medical services to help those in need, even while suffering with the symptoms of tuberculosis.
In 1898, with his health failing, Anton bought a piece of land near Yalta and built a villa for himself, his mother, and his sister. At his home he was visited by other literary greats including Leo Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky.
Anton married Olga Knipper in 1901. She was an aspiring actress and lived in Moscow and he remained at Yalta.
Anton Chekhov was one of Russia's most beloved writers. He wrote plays, short stories, novellas, non-fiction, and one novel: The Shooting Party (1884). At the time of his death Anton was second only to Leo Tolstoy in literary celebrity.
Anton Chekhov's short stories included The Lady with the Dog, that some have called the greatest short story every written.
Anton Chekhov died on July 15th, 1904 at the age of 44.


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