J.D Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was born in New York City on the 1st January 1919. His mother, was of Scottish, German and Irish descent. His only sibling was his older sister Doris (1911–2001). In June 1955, at the age of 36, Salinger married Claire Douglas. They had two children, Margaret and Matthew. After their marriage, J.D. and Claire were initiated into the path of Kriya yoga in a small store-front Hindu temple in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 1955. He was raised Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several in magazines in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 his critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" appeared in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his later work. In 1951 his novel The Catcher in the Rye was an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year. Salinger died aged 91 of natural causes.