1897 New York
1980 Los Angeles

Henry Miller (specifically Henry Valentine Miller) was born on December 16, 1891, in New York. After dropping out of school, Miller earned his living working odd jobs and wrote his first, none too successful works on the side. In 1930, he went in Paris, where he sought out a more unconventional artistic milieu and lived the Bohemian life. In Paris, he developed his own style of writing and published a series of erotic semi-autobiographical novels, including "Tropic of Cancer" in 1934, "Black Spring" in 1936, and "Tropic of Capricorn" in 1939. On returning to the United States in 1940, Miller continued publishing his erotic novels, including his trilogy "Sexus" (1949), "Plexus" (1953), and "Nexus" (1960). On account of Miller's openness on love and sexuality, his works were classified as pornographic and subsequently banned. Despite being banned, they still found their way into the country, being printed in Europe and illegally imported. He nonetheless found a wide readership. In addition to his erotic works, Miller also wrote travel reports, including "The Air-conditioned Nightmare" (1945/47) and his autobiography "Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymos Bosch" (1957). He is considered one of the pioneers of the sexual emancipation in literature. Miller lived in Big Sur, California until his death on June 8, 1980.