Biography of Chekhov


Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is a great Russian writer, a talented playwright, an academician, a doctor by profession. The most important thing in his work is that many works have become classics of world literature, and his plays are staged in theaters around the world.

Early years

He was born on January 17, 1860 in Taganrog in the family of a merchant. From an early age, along with his brothers, Anton helped his father in his shop. Chekhov’s childhood was held in church festivals, every day a future writer sang in a church choir.

The training took place in the Greek school-gymnasium, where the small Chekhov entered the preparatory class in 1868. Then Anton Pavlovich began training at the University of Moscow at the Medical Faculty, which he graduated in 1884. After that he is engaged in medical practice. For all the years of study, Chekhov had to work in every way: he was a tutor, collaborated with magazines, wrote short humoresks.

The beginning of
the literary path

The debut in Chekhov’s press was held in the first year of the institute, when a young writer sent his story and humor to the magazine “Dragonfly”.
Chekhov’s stories were first published in 1884. Chekhov’s work of that period was greatly influenced by the works of Tolstoy.

Then in the biography of Chekhov a long trip to Sakhalin was made. There the writer studied the life of exiles. Chekhov’s works “In exile”, “Sakhalin Island”, “Chamber No. 6” reflect his impressions of the trip.

Chekhov never considered himself a children’s writer. However for children he also had several works: “Kashtanka” and “Belolobiy” – “two tales from the dog’s life,” as the writer himself put it in a letter to the publisher.

Late years. Death of the writer

After buying the estate Melikhovo, conducts public activities, helping people. At that time, many works were written, among them: Chekhov’s plays “The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Sisters”,

“The Seagull”, “Uncle Vanya”. The production of The Seagull at the Moscow Art Theater in 1898 was a well-deserved triumph for Chekhov the playwright.

Then, because of tuberculosis, the biography of Anton Chekhov is replenished with another move – to Yalta, where he is visited by L. Tolstoy, A. Kuprin, I. Bunin, I. Levitan, M. Gorky.

Chekhov’s works are published in two volumes in 1899-1902, and also in 1903.

Because of the worsening of the illness, the writer goes to Germany for treatment, where he dies on July 2, 1904.

Interesting Facts
    Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was very fond of signing his stories with interesting pseudonyms, which numbered about 50. The most popular among them was Antosh Chekhonte. In the family of Chekhov it was believed that the surname of their kind comes from the ancestor of a Czech. The wife of the playwright Chekhov was the actress Olga Leonardovna Knipper, who survived him for 55 years. After the death of her husband, according to the will, she received a dacha in Gurzuf and five thousand rubles. Chekhov had two favorite dogs of the dachshund breed, by which he gave unusual names – Brom Isaevitch and Hina Markovna.

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Biography of Chekhov