Arthur Koestler, 1955 (photo)

Arthur Koestler (1905 – 1983) Hungarian-born British author and journalist. He worked as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, Paris and Berlin. In 1931 he joined the Communist party but resigned in 1938, disillusioned with Stalinism. He moved to England in 1940 and wrote his novel Darkness at Noon, one of the most influential anti-Soviet books ever written. He went on to write , memoirs, biographies, and numerous essays, as well as other novels. He had a large range of interests, both political and scientific and was embroiled in several controversies. He committed suicide, together with his wife, having often expressed a belief in the right to euthanasia. In 1968, he was awarded the Sonning Prize "for outstanding contribution to European culture" and, in 1972, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).