Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair was a prolific American novelist and polemicist known for his advocacy of socialism, health, temperance, free speech, and worker rights.
Novelist
September 20, 1878
Virgo
November 25, 1968
90
Baltimore, Maryland
Upton Sinclair, born on September 20, 1878, in Baltimore, Maryland, was an influential American author, muckraker, and political activist. Throughout his career, he wrote nearly 100 books and works spanning various genres, passionately advocating for socialism, health, temperance, free speech, and worker rights. Sinclair’s most renowned work, “The Jungle” (1906), is a muckraking novel that revealed the appalling conditions of Chicago’s meatpacking industry, leading to significant reforms.
Sinclair’s other notable works include “Oil!”, “Dragon’s Teeth,” and “Boston.” In 1934, he was the Democratic Party’s nominee for governor of California. His contributions to literature and his relentless efforts to uncover corruption in government and business during the early 20th century have left a lasting impact. Sinclair received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943 and remains an essential figure in the progressive movement. He passed away on November 25, 1968, in Bound Brook, New Jersey.