Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, son of Pavel and Yevgeniya, was born Jan.29 1860 in Taganrog southern Russia. His father was physically and verbally abusive, and he plunged the family into bankruptcy. To pay for his education, Anton resorted to private tutoring, selling goldfinches, and writing short descriptive sketches for the local newspaper. By 1879, Chekhov had been admitted to medical school at Moscow University and joined his family in the city as he planned his advanced studies. In 1884, he qualified as a physician but most often treated his patients at no charge, relying on his writing as his primary income source. And by 1887, his story collection, In Twilight, won the Pushkin Prize for "the best literary production distinguished by high artistic worth." It was a much coveted honor. He continuedto practice medicine for much of his writing career saying that "medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress. When I tire of one, I go and sleep with the other." In 1892, Chekhov bought a small country estate and resided until 1899. In a small lodge on the estate, he began writing The Seagull in 1894, but the first night at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg was a catastrophe. With the failure of this first production in 1896, he swore off writing for the stage. When the Moscow Arts Theatre, under the direction of Constantin Stanislavsky, revived the play in 1898 to great acclaim, Chekhov returned to dramatic creation and his Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard were all produced by the company with great success. In March of 1897, Chekhov suffered a major lung hemorrhage as a result of his tuberculosis, for which he had refused to seek treatment since 1884. In 1901, he married the actress Olga Knipper. While their letters reveal a passionate and loving relationship, they continued to spend much of their time apart he wrote in Yalta, she acted in Moscow. There is some suggestion that Olga's miscarriage in 1902 was the result of an extra-marital affair. By May of 1904, Chekhov's tuberculosis was terminal, and he traveled to the German spa of Badenweiler for some relief. Olga's acount of her husband's final moments has become notable, after announcing in German that he was dying, the doctor injected him with camphor to calm him and ordered champagne. Anton drank a full glass, saying how long it had been since he drank champagne. He then reclined and quickly stopped breathing. He was returned to Moscow for a hero's funeral and was buried next to his father in Novodevichy Cemetery.
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