Mississippi Author William Faulkner was born 126 years ago today

Mississippi's best known author, William Faulkner, was born 126 years ago today.

Born in New Albany on September 25, 1897, William Faulkner became a celebrated American writer, renowned for his novels and stories set in Yoknapatawpha County, inspired by Mississippi's Lafayette County. Faulkner's literary journey began with his debut novel "Soldiers' Pay" in 1925, and he went on to create iconic works like "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay Dying." His career also included a stint as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

Faulkner's fame reached its zenith when he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 and won two Pulitzer Prizes for "A Fable" (1954) and "The Reivers" (1962). He purchased the Oxford estate known as Rowan Oak with his financial success. Tragically, Faulkner passed away on July 6, 1962, after a fall from his horse.

In 1998, "The Sound and the Fury" ranked sixth on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century, along with "As I Lay Dying," "Light in August," and "Absalom, Absalom!"

William FaulknerPhoto byMississippi News Group