Ernesto Sabato facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ernesto Sabato
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Ernesto Sabato in 1970
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| Born | June 24, 1911 Rojas, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina |
| Died | April 30, 2011 (aged 99) Santos Lugares, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina |
| Occupation | Novelist and essayist, painter |
| Language | Spanish |
| Education | PhD in Physics |
| Alma mater | Universidad Nacional de La Plata |
| Period | 1941–2004 |
| Genre | Novel, essay |
| Notable works | El Túnel Sobre héroes y tumbas Abaddón el exterminador |
| Notable awards | Legion of Honour Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger Miguel de Cervantes Prize Jerusalem Prize |
| Spouse | Matilde Kusminsky Richter (1936–1998) |
| Children | Jorge Federico Sabato Mario Sabato |
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Ernesto Sabato (born June 24, 1911 – died April 30, 2011) was an Argentine writer, painter, and physicist. He was known for his novels and essays. Many people consider him one of the most important writers from Latin America. When he passed away, a newspaper called him the "last classic writer in Argentine literature."
Sabato was born in Rojas, a small town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. He studied physics at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and earned a PhD. He also studied in Paris at the Curie Institute. After World War II, he decided to focus on writing and painting instead of science.
His most famous novels are El Túnel (1948), Sobre héroes y tumbas (1961), and Abaddón el exterminador (1974). His first novel, El Túnel, was praised by famous writers like Albert Camus and Thomas Mann. His essays covered many topics, including metaphysics, politics, and tango. He received many important awards for his writing, such as the Miguel de Cervantes Prize from Spain and the Legion of Honour from France.
In 1984, the President of Argentina, Raúl Alfonsín, asked Sabato to lead a special group called the CONADEP Commission. This group investigated what happened to people who mysteriously disappeared during a difficult time in Argentina in the 1970s, known as the Dirty War. The commission's findings were published in a book called Nunca Más (meaning Never Again).
Contents
A Look at Ernesto Sabato's Life
Early Years and Education
Ernesto Sabato was born in Rojas, a town in Buenos Aires Province. His parents, Francesco Sabato and Giovanna Maria Ferrari, were immigrants from Italy. He was the tenth of eleven children. He was given the name "Ernesto" because his older brother, who had the same name, had passed away.
In 1924, after finishing primary school, he moved to the city of La Plata. There, he attended the Colegio Nacional de La Plata for his high school education. During this time, he met a professor named Pedro Henríquez Ureña, who inspired him to write. In 1929, he started college at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, studying physics and mathematics.
While in college, he became involved in student movements. In 1933, he helped start a group called "Insurrexit Group," which had communist ideas. He also became the Secretary General of the Communist Youth Federation. It was at a lecture about Marxism that he met Matilde Kusminsky Richter, who later became his wife.
Around 1934, Sabato began to have doubts about communism. The Communist Party sent him to a school in Moscow. However, he decided to leave the program and went to Paris instead. In Paris, he started writing his first novel, though it was never published. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1936 and married Matilde Kusminsky Richter.
From Science to Writing
In 1938, Ernesto Sabato earned his PhD in physics from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata. He received a special research grant to study atomic radiation at the Curie Institute in Paris. While living in France, he became interested in the surrealist movement, which greatly influenced his future writing style. On May 25, 1938, his first son, Jorge Federico Sabato, was born.
In 1939, he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. By 1940, he returned to Argentina, wanting to leave physics behind. However, he still had to teach physics at the Universidad de La Plata. He taught subjects like relativity and quantum mechanics. In 1943, he decided to stop working in science completely to become a full-time writer and painter.
In 1945, his second son, Mario Sabato, was born.
A Career in Literature
Ernesto Sabato's first published writing appeared in 1941. It was an article about a book by Adolfo Bioy Casares. He also started writing for the well-known Sur magazine. In 1942, he became a book reviewer for Sur and wrote articles for the newspaper La Nación. He also translated scientific books into Spanish.
In 1945, his first book, Uno y el Universo (One and the Universe), was published. This book was a collection of essays that questioned whether science was truly neutral and warned about technology making society less human. Over time, his views became more focused on humanity and freedom. For this book, he received an award from the city of Buenos Aires.
In 1948, after some difficulty finding a publisher, Sabato's first novel, El túnel (The Tunnel), was published. This was a psychological novel told from the main character's point of view. It was very popular and was translated into more than ten languages. Famous writers like Albert Camus and Thomas Mann praised it.
His book Abaddon, el Exterminador (The Angel of Darkness) was named the best foreign book of 1976 in France.
In 1998, Sabato's wife passed away. In 1999, he also became an Italian citizen, in addition to his Argentine nationality.
Ernesto Sabato died in Santos Lugares on April 30, 2011, just two months before his 100th birthday. He passed away due to bronchitis. Many people remembered him as a truly great Argentine writer.
Major Works
Novels
- 1948: El túnel (The Tunnel)
- 1961: Sobre héroes y tumbas (On Heroes and Tombs)
- 1974: Abaddón el exterminador (The Angel of Darkness)
Essays
- 1945: Uno y el Universo (One and the Universe)
- 1951: Hombres y engranajes (Man and Mechanism)
- 1953: Heterodoxia (Heterodoxy)
- 1963: El escritor y sus fantasmas (The Writer in the Catastrophe of our Time)
- 1963: Tango, discusión y clave (Tango: Discussion and Key)
- 1976: Diálogos con Jorge Luis Borges (Dialogues with Jorge Luis Borges)
- 1998: Antes del fin (Before the End)
- This book is an autobiography where Sabato shares stories from his life and explains how his political and ethical ideas developed. He talks about the problems of globalization and how too much focus on logic and material things can be harmful. He also shares touching memories of his school days, his late wife Matilde, and his son Jorge.
- 2000: La resistencia (The Resistance)
Other Important Works
- 1984: Nunca más. Informe de la Comisión Nacional sobre la desaparición de personas (Never Again. Report from the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons)
- This is the official report from the CONADEP Commission, which investigated the disappearance of people during the Dirty War in Argentina.
Honoring Ernesto Sabato
On June 24, 2019, which would have been Sabato's 108th birthday, he was honored with a Google Doodle.
See also
In Spanish: Ernesto Sabato para niños
- Argentine literature
