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BIOGRAPHY OF ANTON PAVLOVICH CHEKHOV

by Abdul Razak Mohammed

Known as one of the three influential figures, alongside Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, to contribute to the birth of early modernism, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on the 29^th of January 1860 in Taganrog, which was a port city on the Azov Sea in Southern Russia. He was the son of Pavel Yegorovich Chekhov (father) and Yevgeniya Morozova (mother) who had six children, with Anton Chekhov as a middle child. Later in his adult life, he married Olga Knipper, a distinguished actress who appeared in most of his major plays.

Anton Chekhov was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His early life was met with poverty, violence, and domination by his father, which instilled in him a deep empathy for the struggles of ordinary people. Despite financial difficulties, his parents made sure he and his siblings received  good schooling. He was enrolled in the Taganrog School for Boys in 1868 which prepared him for university.  His talent for storytelling began at a young age when he wrote his first story at age sixteen, and by his late teens, he was contributing humorous sketches to local newspapers.

In 1879, Chekhov enrolled in medical school at Moscow University. He decided to go to medical school because he wanted to alleviate the suffering of others and to help support his family financially.  However, going to medical school did not hinder his literary career. He continued to write short stories and plays, which garnered attention for their naturalistic style and acute psychological insight.