Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Antoine Jean-Baptiste Marie Roger de Saint-Exupéry (French: Antoine Jean-Baptiste Marie Roger de Saint-Exupéry; June 29, 1900, Lyon, France – July 31, 1944) was a French writer, poet, and professional aviator.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born in Lyon, France, into an ancient noble family. His father was Jean de Saint-Exupéry and his mother was Marie de Foncillon. He was the third of five children in the family. At the age of four, he lost his father. From that time on, his mother took care of little Antoine's upbringing.

In 1912, Antoine took to the skies for the first time in a plane in the Ambérieu valley. The aircraft was piloted by the famous aviator Gabriel Vroblevski. In 1908, Saint-Exupéry enrolled in a school for Christian brothers located in Lyon. Later, he continued his studies with his brother François at the Saint-Croix college in Manste until 1914. He later pursued his education in Fribourg (Switzerland). He was preparing to enter the "École Navale," but failed to pass the entrance exam. In 1919, he enrolled in an academy with a focus on architecture. A particularly tumultuous time in Saint-Exupéry's life came in 1921 when he was drafted into the French military. He then joined the 2nd squadron of the destructive air forces. Initially, he was assigned to a maintenance crew, but later took exams and earned his pilot's license. He was transferred to Morocco, where he was granted the title of military pilot. After some time, he was sent to Istres to further hone his skills. In 1922, Antoine completed officer training courses in Avord and received the rank of second lieutenant.

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