Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov was a Russian writer born in 1860 in Taganrog, a port town in the Russian Empire, and he died in 1904 at the age of 44. He trained as a physician and practised medicine while writing, once remarking that medicine was his lawful wife and literature his mistress. He began with short comic sketches for magazines to support his family, then developed a quieter, more searching kind of story that observed ordinary people with patience and gentle irony.

Chekhov is regarded as one of the masters of the short story and a founder of modern drama. His major plays, including The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, were staged by the Moscow Art Theatre and changed how theatre handled feeling, silence and everyday life. Writers across the world have learned from his restraint and compassion.