The Famous Suicide Of Ernest Hemingway
Lloyd Arnold/Wikimedia CommonsErnest Hemingway at the Sun Valley Lodge, Idaho, in late 1939.
When the news that Ernest Hemingway had died spread around the world in 1961, people could not believe why a successful, powerful, man like him would choose to end his life. But Hemingway had suffered decades of physical and mental exhaustion. It had perhaps simply worn the man down in ways that the public never suspected — and that he could not repair.
Hemingway was born in July 1899 in Oak Park, Ill. He started his writing career working for his high school paper and after he graduated he took a job as a reporter for the Kansas City Star.
He took a quick hiatus to fight overseas in World War I and briefly returned back to the United States afterward. Hemingway soon went back to Europe as a foreign correspondent for the Star and became part of the famous Lost Generation.
National ArchivesCirca 1918, age 18-19.
It was during this time that Hemingway began to launch his literary career. Over the course of his life, Hemingway penned countless classics such as The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Farewell To Arms.
He also continued his career as a reporter, covering the Spanish Civil War, the Normandy landings and many other events. This life took a toll on Hemingway both mentally and physically, however.
He began to experience many health problems due to previous injuries he sustained while on assignment and he developed depression. As his health continued to deteriorate, Hemingway finally retired and moved to Idaho.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and MuseumErnest Hemingway (center) with Soviet writer Ilya Ehrenburg (left) and German writer Gustav Regler (right) during the Spanish Civil War, circa 1937.
It is there where the author would take his life in one of the most famous suicides.
On the morning of July 2, 1961, Hemingway got out of his bed, making sure not to wake his sleeping wife, Mary. Then he entered the storage room where he kept his guns, removed a double-barreled shotgun, and went downstairs.
In the foyer, Hemingway put the gun to his forehead and pulled the trigger. Initially, his wife Mary said that his death was an accident and that the gun went off while he was cleaning it, but after a few months, she admitted that her husband’s death had been on purpose.
Despite its tragic end, Hemingway’s extraordinary life and works continue to inspire generations of writers and journalists.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or use their 24/7 Lifeline Crisis Chat.
