George Santayana

Born in Madrid on December 16, 1863, he moved to Boston as a child and was educated in the United States, later studying at Harvard. He went on to teach philosophy there from 1889 to 1912, working in the same intellectual world as figures like William James and Josiah Royce.

Though often remembered for memorable sayings, he was much more than a quotable thinker. He wrote philosophy, criticism, poetry, and fiction, and is especially known for works such as The Sense of Beauty, The Life of Reason, Scepticism and Animal Faith, and the novel The Last Puritan. His writing brought together elegant style and a calm, skeptical view of human nature, religion, art, and society.

After leaving Harvard, he spent the rest of his life in Europe, living mainly in France and Italy. He died in Rome on September 26, 1952, leaving behind a body of work that still attracts readers who enjoy ideas expressed with grace, wit, and literary charm.