Constantine Fitzgibbon facts for kids

Major Constantine FitzGibbon (born Robert Louis Constantine Lee-Dillon FitzGibbon, 8 June 1919 – 25 March 1983) was a talented writer. He was born in America but became an Irish-British historian, translator, and novelist. He wrote many books and translated others from different languages.

Early Life and Family

Constantine FitzGibbon was born in the United States in 1919. He was the youngest of four children. His father, Robert Francis Lee-Dillon FitzGibbon, was from Ireland and served in the Royal Navy (the British navy). His mother, Georgette Folsom, was an American heiress, meaning she inherited a lot of money. His parents divorced when he was very young, in 1923.

Constantine's family had a long history. They were related to John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare, who was an important official in Ireland around 1800. He helped unite Ireland and England. Constantine's family also had connections to American history through his mother's side. His great-grandfather, George Folsom, was a diplomat for the United States in the Netherlands.

Constantine grew up living in both the United States and France. Later, he moved to England with his mother.

School and Studies

FitzGibbon went to Wellington College, Berkshire, which is a private school in Britain. He didn't enjoy his time there. When he was 16, he left school and traveled around Europe. He studied at the University of Munich in Germany and the University of Paris in France. This helped him become fluent in French and German. He also learned a lot about their literature.

In 1937, he won a scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford. A scholarship is money given to a student to help them pay for their education. He planned to study modern languages there. However, he left in May 1940 to join the army because of World War II. He never went back to finish his degree after the war. One of his novels, The Golden Age (1976), is set in a future Oxford after a big disaster. It shows his mixed feelings about the university.

Constantine FitzGibbon's Career

Constantine FitzGibbon served as an officer in the British Army from 1940 to 1942. He was part of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry regiment. A regiment is a large group of soldiers. Since he was an American citizen, he then joined the United States Army in 1942 when America entered the war. He rose to the rank of Major by 1945. His work was in intelligence, which means gathering secret information. He worked with General Omar H. Bradley during the D-Day campaign. D-Day was a very important military operation during World War II.

After the war, in 1946, FitzGibbon was offered a job with a group that later became the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA is a US government agency that gathers intelligence. But he turned down the job. Instead, he worked briefly as a schoolteacher in Bermuda. Then, he became a full-time writer. He lived in Italy for a while and later in England.

His Writing and Views

FitzGibbon wrote more than 30 books. These included nine novels, which are fictional stories. He also translated many books from German and French into English. One of his close friends was the writer Manès Sperber. FitzGibbon translated many of Sperber's books. Sperber's ideas about the dangers of extreme political groups, both left-wing and right-wing, influenced FitzGibbon a lot.

Politically, FitzGibbon was strongly against communism. Communism is a political idea where the government controls everything. He believed that any political group that locked up its opponents was bad. He refused to visit Spain when its leader, Franco, was in power because Franco was a dictator. During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, a time of conflict, FitzGibbon supported equal rights for Catholics. But he spoke out against violence from all sides.

His 1960 novel, When the Kissing Had to Stop, caused some debate. It was against the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). The CND was a group that wanted countries to get rid of their nuclear weapons. The book showed Britain being taken over by the Soviet Union if a left-wing government removed its nuclear weapons. An adaptation of the book for TV caused even more controversy. One writer even called FitzGibbon a "fascist Hyena." FitzGibbon found this funny and published a collection of essays called Random Thoughts of a Fascist Hyena (1963).

He wrote a lot, including fiction, history books, and biographies (life stories of real people). He also wrote poetry and memoirs, which are personal stories about his own life. He made radio programs for the BBC. He also wrote for newspapers and a magazine called Encounter. He tried writing a play, The Devil at Work, but it was not very successful.

FitzGibbon was a member of the Irish Academy of Letters. He was also an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Guggenheim Fellow. These are honors given to important writers. Later in his life, he became an Irish citizen and lived in County Dublin, Ireland.

Personal Life

Constantine FitzGibbon was married four times. His first marriage was short. During World War II, he met Theodora Rosling. They married in 1944 but did not have children. Their marriage ended in 1960. Theodora wrote about their time together in her memoirs.

He then married Marion Gutmann in 1960. They had a son named Francis in 1961. Their marriage ended in 1965. After that, he moved to Ireland. In 1967, he married Marjorie Steele, who was a retired American actress. They had a daughter named Oonagh in 1968. FitzGibbon wrote a children's book for her called Teddy in the Tree (1977). He also adopted Marjorie's son, Peter. The family lived in County Dublin, Ireland.

Constantine FitzGibbon passed away in Dublin on 25 March 1983.