Though ernest hemingway was an immensely talented author he was also an icon of 20th century bullishness and masculinity a surprisingly sensitive if tempestuous soul and one of the most beautiful awful and intriguing figures in literary history in life he was a reporter a soldier and quite a drinker who would have loved admiration like . Ernest hemingway american novelist and short story writer awarded the nobel prize for literature in 1954 he was noted both for the intense masculinity of his writing and for his adventurous and widely publicized life his succinct and lucid prose style exerted a powerful influence on american and british fiction. Ernest miller hemingway was born on july 21 1899 in cicero now in oak park illinois clarence and grace hemingway raised their son in this conservative suburb of chicago but the family also. Childhood in the midwest ernest miller hemingway was born in oak park illinois on july 21 1898 his father was a country physician who taught his son hunting and fishing his mother was a religious woman active in church affairs who led her son to play the cello and sing in the choir hemingways early years were spent largely in fighting