Last Updated: 27 May, 2023 | Views: 399
Age: 66
Profession: Writer
Other Profession(s): Screen Writer, Political Activist
Famous For: one of the finest mystery writers of all time
Higher Education: Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Net Worth: $5 Million Approx.
About (profile/biography)
Dashiell Hammett was an American writer known for his hard-boiled detective stories, including "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Thin Man." He was born on May 27, 1894, in St. Mary's County, Maryland, and died on January 10, 1961, in New York City.
Dashiell Hammett Early Life and Military Service:
Hammett grew up in a dysfunctional family and left school at the age of 13 to work odd jobs.
In 1915, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a private during World War I. He contracted tuberculosis during his service and was eventually discharged in 1920.
Dashiell Hammett Career in Writing:
After leaving the military, Hammett worked as a private detective for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in San Francisco, an experience that would inform his writing.
He began writing short stories in the 1920s, many of which were published in pulp magazines.
In 1929, he published his first novel, "Red Harvest," which was followed by "The Dain Curse" in 1929 and "The Maltese Falcon" in 1930.
Dashiell Hammett Personal Life and Political Activism:
Hammett was married twice, first to a nurse named Josephine Dolan in 1921, with whom he had two daughters, and later to playwright and screenwriter Lillian Hellman in 1930.
He was a member of the Communist Party USA from 1934 to 1937 and was jailed for six months in 1951 for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Dashiell Hammett Legacy and Influence:
Hammett's hard-boiled detective fiction helped to shape the crime genre and has been adapted into numerous films and television shows.
He is considered one of the most important writers of detective fiction in the 20th century and was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America in 1954.
