William Golding was born on 19 September 1911 in Newquay, Cornwall. His father, Alec, was a science master.

In 1935 he himself became a teacher, at Michael Hall, a Rudolf Steiner school then in South London, staying there for two years.

During World War II he served in the Royal Navy, eventually commanding his own ship.

After the war, Golding returned to teaching and writing. His novel "Lord of the Flies" was turned down by twenty-one publishers, until it finally appeared in 1954. It became an immediate success in Britain and a bestseller among American readers in the late 1950s.

Golding resigned in 1961 from teaching to devote himself entirely to writing. In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for "his novels, which illuminate the human condition in the world today". In 1988 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

William Golding died on 19 June 1993.