Simon Winchester, OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions. In decreasing order of seniority, these are: (born 28 September 1944), is a British Traditionally Christianity, mostly Protestantism, but also Roman Catholicism. Other religions include Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. Agnosticism and atheism are also prevalent author An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work and journalist A journalist collects and disseminates information about current events, people, trends, and issues. His or her work is acknowledged as journalism who currently resides in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language. Through his career at The Guardian The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation (the Scott Trust, via the Guardian Media Group). It is known for its left-of-centre political stance. At the 2010 election it supported the Liberal Democrats, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal The Watergate scandal was a political scandal in the United States in the 1970s, resulting from the break-in into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. Effects of the scandal ultimately led to the resignation of the United States President Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974. It also. As an author, Simon Winchester has written or contributed to over a dozen nonfiction books and written one novel. Currently, Winchester contributes to several travel publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine Smithsonian is a monthly magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. It is edited by Carey Winfrey, and National Geographic The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. Simon Winchester currently lives in New York New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over global commerce, finance, media, culture, art, fashion, research, education, and entertainment. As host of the and on a farm in Massachusetts Massachusetts has been significant throughout American history. Plymouth was the second permanent English settlement in North America. Many of Massachusetts's towns were founded by colonists from England in the 1620s and 1630s. The Merrimack Valley has been, since 1650, a center of creativity through the poetic word. America's first published poet.

Contents

Early life and education

Simon Winchester was born in the autumn of 1944 in northern London London is a leading global city being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media,. Winchester attended several boarding schools in Dorset Dorset is famous for the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, which features landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door, as well as the holiday resorts of Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth, Swanage, and Lyme Regis. Dorset is the principal setting of the novels of Thomas Hardy, who was born near Dorchester. The[1] and in 1963 entered Oxford University The University of Oxford , located in the English city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back as the 11th century. The University grew to study geology at St Catherine's College St Catherine's College, often called St Catz or simply Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is one of the largest colleges of the University and its motto is Nova et Vetera . As of 2006, the college had an estimated financial endowment of £53m. He graduated from St Catherine's in 1966 with a degree in geology and found work with Falconbridge of Africa, a Canadian mining company. His first assignment was to work as a field geologist searching for copper deposits in Uganda The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also bordered by Kenya.[2]

Career

While on assignment in Uganda, Winchester happened upon a copy of James Morris Jan Morris CBE is a Welsh nationalist, historian, author and travel writer. She is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City' Coronation Everest – an account of the 1952 expedition which led to the first successful attempt to climb Mount Everest Mount Everest – also called Qomolangma Peak (Mount Sagarmāthā , Tibetan: ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ; Chinese Zhumulangma Peak simplified Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰; pinyin: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng), Chajamlangma (Limbu), or Mount Chomolangma – is the world's highest mountain above sea level at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). Part of the.[3] Inspired by the book and with a desire to be a writer, Winchester sought career advice from Morris by mail. Morris urged Winchester to give up geology and get a job as a writer.[4] Shortly after, Winchester left Africa and returned to England eventually finding work as The Journal in Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne (locally pronounced /njuːˈkæsəl/ ) (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Situated on the north bank of the River Tyne, the city developed in the area that was the location of the Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, though it owes its name to the castle.

Journalist

In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne (locally pronounced /njuːˈkæsəl/ ) (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Situated on the north bank of the River Tyne, the city developed in the area that was the location of the Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, though it owes its name to the castle, but was later assigned as the Northern Ireland Correspondent.[5] Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of the tumultuous period, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Belfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in Northern Ireland, the second-largest city in Ireland and the 15th-largest city in the United Kingdom. It is the main settlement in the province of Ulster. The city of Hour of Terror.[6][7]

After leaving Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. At the time of the 2001 UK Census, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta Kolkata ( Kolkata (Bengali: কলকাতা) ; IPA: [ˈkolkat̪a], formerly called Calcutta (help·info)), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Kolkata is the cultural capital of India and the commercial capital of Eastern India. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the Hooghly River. The Kolkata metropolitan area before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia until an act of Congress in 1871 effectively merged the City and the, where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of the Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States from 1969–1974 and was also the 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961). Nixon was the only President to resign the office and also the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency administration[8] to the start of Jimmy Carter's James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia, presidency.[9] In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded independently and came under common ownership only in 1966, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of 48,100 km2 (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands including Cape Horn. Initially discovered for three months.[10]

In 1985, Winchester shifted to work as a freelance writer and travelled to Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million.[11] When Condé Nast re-branded Signature Magazine as Condé Nast Traveler, Winchester was appointed the Asia-Pacific Editor.[12] Over the next decade and a half, Winchester contributed to a number of travel publications including the aforementioned Traveler, as well as National Geographic The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history and Smithsonian Magazine Smithsonian is a monthly magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. It is edited by Carey Winfrey.[13] With the success of Winchester's books in the late 1990s, he has largely retired from journalism.

Author

Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber Faber and Faber, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music books, as well as books for children. In 2006 the company in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of 48,100 km2 (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands including Cape Horn. Initially discovered during the Falklands War The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom (UK) over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Falkland Islands consist of two large and many small islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina; their name and and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom.[14]

Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea Korea (Korean: 한국 "Hanguk" [ˌhanˈkuːk—]-South and North Korea, rsp. ) is a territory of East Asia that was formerly unified under one state, but now divided into two separate states and a region in northeastern Asia. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is, Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million, and the Yangtze River The name Yangtze River, as well as other similar names such as Yangtse River, Yangzi River and Yangtze Kiang, is derived from Yangzi Jiang (simplified Chinese: 扬 .

Winchester's first truly successful book was 1998's The Professor and the Madman The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words is a book by Simon Winchester first published in 1998. The American edition is called The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, and was published the same year (released in by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne). Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is a dictionary of the English language. Two fully-bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. As of December 2008[update], the editors had completed one quarter of a third edition, the book was a New York Times Best Seller,[15] and the rights to a film version were optioned by Mel Gibson Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.[16]

Though he still writes travel books, Winchester has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World focused on geologist William Smith William Smith was an English geologist, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology", although recognition was very slow in coming. At the time his map was first published he was overlooked by the scientific community; his relatively humble education and family connections and was his second New York Times best seller.[17] 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Erupted.[18] Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earth quake in A Crack in the Edge of the World.[19] His most recent book, 2008's The Man Who Loved China retells the story of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA , also known as Li Yuese (simplified Chinese: 李约瑟; traditional Chinese: 李約瑟; pinyin: Lǐ Yuēsè: Wade-Giles: Li Yüeh-Sê), was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941 who helped to expose China to the western world.[20]

Simon Winchester's latest book Atlantic: A Biography of the Ocean is expected to be released in October, 2010.[21]

Bibliography

Honours

Winchester was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for "services to journalism and literature" in Queen Elizabeth II's New Year Honours list of 2006.

Winchester was named an honorary fellow at St. Catherine's College in October, 2009.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Simon Winchester Bio". Simon Winchester.com. http://simonwinchester.com/about/bio/. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  2. ^ "Winchester Simon - Bio of Winchester Simon - AEI Speakers Bureau". AEI Speakers Bureau. http://www.aeispeakers.com/speakerbio.php?SpeakerID=1500. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  3. ^ "BookPage Interview August 2001: Simon Winchester". Bookpage.com. 2001-08. http://www.bookpage.com/0108bp/simon_winchester.html. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  4. ^ "Simon Winchester - Annotated Bibliography". San Jose State University. http://www.sjsu.edu/cwmfa/simonwinchester. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  5. ^ "Simon Winchester Bio". Simon Winchester.com. http://simonwinchester.com/about/bio/. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  6. ^ "13 killed as paratroops break riot". The Guardian. 1972-01-31. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1972/jan/31/bloodysunday.northernireland. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  7. ^ "11 die in Belfast hour of terror". The Guardian. 1972-07-22. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1972/jul/22/northernireland.simonhoggart. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  8. ^ "Dignity in the last goodbye". The Guardian. 1974-08-09. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1974/aug/09/usa.hellapick. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  9. ^ "Winchester Simon - Bio of Winchester Simon - AEI Speakers Bureau". AEI Speakers Bureau. http://www.aeispeakers.com/speakerbio.php?SpeakerID=1500. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  10. ^ "Simon Winchester". ContemporaryWriters.com. 2004. http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth02C22K543212627027. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  11. ^ "Simon Winchester Bio". Simon Winchester.com. http://simonwinchester.com/about/bio/. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  12. ^ "Travel Writers: Simon Winchester". Rolf Pott's Vagabonding. http://www.rolfpotts.com/writers/winchester.html. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  13. ^ "Simon Winchester". ContemporaryWriters.com. 2004. http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth02C22K543212627027. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  14. ^ "Simon Winchester". ContemporaryWriters.com. 2004. http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth02C22K543212627027. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  15. ^ "Best Sellers Plus". New York Times. 1999-01-17. http://www3.nytimes.com/books/99/01/17/bsp/nonfictioncompare.html. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  16. ^ "USA's working-class soap will bow in early evening". Variety. 1999-04-26. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117493604.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=the+professor+and+the+madman. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  17. ^ "Best Sellers". New York Times. 2001-09-09. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/09/books/best-sellers-september-9-2001.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  18. ^ "Best Sellers". New York Times. 2002-08-25. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/25/books/paperback-best-sellers-august-25-2002.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  19. ^ "Best Sellers". New York Times. 2005-11-06. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E3D6113FF935A35752C1A9639C8B63. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  20. ^ "About the Book - The Man Who Loved China". HarperCollins. http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060884598/The_Man_Who_Loved_China/index.aspx. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  21. ^ "Simon Winchester Bio". Simon Winchester.com. http://simonwinchester.com/about/bio/. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  22. ^ "Academic Staff". St Catherine's College. http://www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk/content/academic-staff. Retrieved 2010-04-08.

External links

Categories: 1944 births | Living people | British atheists | 1906 San Francisco earthquake | Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford | British non-fiction writers | The Guardian journalists | British travel writers | Officers of the Order of the British Empire

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