Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Born into an aristocratic family, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was the third of five children and one of two sons in the family. After failing his final exams at the preparatory Naval Academy, Saint-Exupéry enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts as an auditor to study architecture for 15 months, before dropping out again to take odd jobs and eventually to become an aviator. During his years as a pilot, Saint-Exupéry began writing, and several years later, with the publication of his novel Vol de nuit (Night Flight), he was established as a rising star in the literary world. Saint-Exupéry continued to fly, joining the French Air Force upon the beginning of World War II. However, after the Fall of France, Saint-Exupéry and his wife Consuelo Suncin fled to New York, where he would eventually write and illustrate The Little Prince. Following the publication of The Little Prince in 1943, Saint-Exupéry decided to return to war to fight with the Allies. In 1944, during his final reconnaissance mission in the Rhone Valley, however, his aircraft disappeared dramatically, without a trace.