Mamaine Paget

Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler (1969)
Born	Kösztler Artúr 5 September 1905 Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Died	1 March 1983 (aged 77) London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Novelist, essayist, journalist
Nationality	Hungarian, British
Citizenship	Naturalized British subject
Period	1934–1983
Subject	Fiction, non-fiction, history, autobiography, politics, philosophy, psychology, parapsychology, science
Notable works	Darkness at Noon The Thirteenth Tribe
Notable awards	Sonning Prize (1968) CBE (1972)
Spouse	Dorothy Ascher (1935–50) Mamaine Paget (1950–52) Cynthia Jefferies (1965–83)

Arthur Koestler, CBE (/ˈkɛstlər, ˈkɛslər/; German: [ˈkœstlɐ]; Hungarian: Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-British author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931 Koestler joined the Communist Party of Germany until, disillusioned by Stalinism, he resigned in 1938. In 1940 he published his novel Darkness at Noon, an anti-totalitarian work that gained him international fame. Over the next 43 years, from his residence in Britain, Koestler espoused many political causes, and wrote novels, memoirs, biographies and numerous essays. In 1968 he was awarded the Sonning Prize "for [his] outstanding contribution to European culture" and in 1972 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 1976 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and in 1979 with terminal leukaemia. In 1983 he and his wife committed suicide at their home in London.

Koestler was born in Budapest to Henrik and Adele Koestler (née Jeiteles). He was an only child. His father Henrik Koestler had been born on 18 August 1869 in the town of Miskolc in northeastern Hungary. His paternal grandfather Lipót Koestler, was a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian Army. In 1861 he married Karolina Schon, the daughter of a prosperous timber merchant. Henrik left school at age 16 and took a job as an errand boy with a firm of drapers. He taught himself English, German and French, and eventually became a partner in the firm. He then set up his own business importing textiles into Hungary.