Home > Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco ( Romanian spelling: Eugen Ionescu) ( November 26, 1912 - March 28, 1994) was one of the foremost playwrights of the theater of the absurd. Beyond ridiculing the most banal situations, Ionesco's plays depict in a tangible way the solitude of humans and the insignificance of one's existence. The son of a Romanian father and a French mother, born in Slatina, Romania, he spent most of his childhood in France but in his early teenage years returned to Romania, where he qualified as a teacher of French and married in 1936. In 1928, at the University of Bucharest, he met Emile Cioran and Mircea EliadeMircea Eliade ( March 9 1907, Bucharest April 22 1986, Chicago) was a Romanian historian of religions and writer ( fantasy and autobiographical). He spoke 8 languages fluently ( Romanian, French, German, Italian, English, Hebrew, Persian and Sanskrit)., and the three became lifelong friends.
He returned to France in 1938Events January -June January 3 The March of Dimes is established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. January 11 Frances Moulton is the first woman to become president of a US national bank. January 20 Wedding of king Farouk I of Egypt and Farida Zulficar in Cai to complete his doctoral thesis. Caught by the outbreak of warWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough in 1939Events January-June January 2 End of term for Frank Finley Merriam, 28th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Culbert Levy Olson. January 24 Earthquake kills 30. 000 in Chile about 50. 000 sq mi razed January 26 Falangists take Barcelona January 26, he remained there, eventually becoming a gifted writer. He was made a member of the Académie françaiseThe Academie francaise (French Academy) is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Academie, limited to forty members, has the task of acting as an official authority on the language, even though it has no enf in 1970Events January events January 1 Construction begins on Arcosanti, by Paolo Soleri, in Mayer, Arizona, located 65, miles north of Phoenix, Arizona. January 1 Unix epoch at 00:00:00 UTC. January 12 Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war. January.
He died at 81 and is buried in the Cimetière du MontparnasseThe Cimetiere du Montparnasse is a famous cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, France. It is in the 14eme arrondissement. Created from three farms in 1824, the Montparnasse cemetery was originally known as Le Cimetiere du Sud. Cemeteries had bee, Paris, France.
Although Ionesco wrote almost entirely in French, he is one of Romanians' proudest citizens. There is much resentment over what could be called the French's "adoption" of him, specifically the fact that most of the world knows him as Eugène Ionesco, rather than his birth name and name in his native Romanian language, Eugen Ionescu.
1 His works include:
- The Bald SopranoThe Bald Soprano (French La Cantatrice Chauve was the first play written by Eugene Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on May 16 1950 at the Theatre des Noctambules. Since 1957 it has been in permanent showing at the Theatre de la Huchette, wh (1950)
- The Lesson (1951)
- The Chairs (1952)
- Rhinoceros (1959)
- The Killer (1958)
- Exit the King (1962)
- A Stroll in the Air (1963)
- Hunger and Thirst (1964)
- Macbett (1972)
