Biography

On March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California, one of America’s most well-known poets was born - Robert Frost. At eleven years old, Frost's father who was a journalist died due to tuberculosis. After this tragedy, Frost, his sister, and his mother moved in with his grandparents in Lawrence, Massachusetts. After Frost graduated high school in 1892, he went to Dartmouth College. In 1894, Robert Frost published his first poem, “My Butterfly: An Elegy,” in New York City in The Independent. After being initially rejected, Frost proposed to Elinor White for the second time, she accepted, and on December 19, 1895, they got married. Elliot, their first child, was born in 1896, and Lesley, their second child, was born in 1899. Frost went to Harvard University for two years, but in 1900, he and his family moved to a farm property in New Hampshire that was bought for them by Frost’s grandpa. It was at this farm during sunrise that Frost wrote many of his poems that would later become famous. There were, however, challenges that arose in his personal life while living on the farm for the next twelve years such as his firstborn dying of cholera in 1900.  In 1912, the Frost’s moved to England where he published his first book of poems. Once World War I began in 1914, they returned to America where Frost found a new publisher, Henry Holt, who he would work with for the rest of his life. Frost began teaching at several colleges with Amherst College being the most noteworthy. He left his job there, however, when Elinor died in 1938 due to heart issues and cancer. Frost was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 and was asked to speak at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. He also received four Pulitzer Prizes. Frost died on January 29, 1963, due to prostate cancer.

References
"Robert Frost Biography." Biography.com. N.p., 17 May 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/robert-frost-20796091>.