T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) was an American-born British poet, playwright, and literary critic, widely regarded as one of the most influential modernist writers of the 20th century. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Eliot studied at Harvard, the Sorbonne, and Oxford before settling in England, where he became a British citizen in 1927.
His groundbreaking poem The Waste Land (1922) is a defining work of modernist literature, capturing the disillusionment and fragmentation of the post-World War I era. With its complex allusions and innovative style, it reshaped poetic form and interpretation. Other major works include The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915), Four Quartets (1943), and Ash Wednesday (1930).
Eliot was also a distinguished playwright, with works like Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and The Cocktail Party (1949), as well as an influential critic who shaped literary thought through essays like Tradition and the Individual Talent (1919). He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 for his contributions to poetry.
Eliot died on January 4, 1965, in London. His literary innovations, intellectual depth, and exploration of spirituality and human struggle continue to influence literature and thought today.