Author's+Biography

=**J.D. Salinger**= The Author of The Catcher in the Rye was Jerome David Salinger. He was born on New Year's Day, 1919 and lived up until January 27, 2010.

__Family__
Jerome was born to Marie and and Sol Salinger. His father was a Jewish Lithuanian and his mother was Irish Catholic. Due to the clash of beliefs his mother changed her name to Miriam, a more Jewish name. He was unaware of her faith until after his Bar Mitzvah. He also had an older sister named Doris.

__Early Life __
He attended public schools before moving in 1932, when he began attending McBurney private school. Due to his faith he found it hard to fit in and started using his first name, Jerry, rather than David, his Jewish name. He was very active in school; managing the fencing team, writing for the paper, and being an actor in drama productions. But all was not well as his father didn't approve of him acting and his failing grades soon had him kicked out. His parent then enrolled him in Valley Forge Academy where, again, he was took part in many activities such as being the editor of the yearbook, aviation club, glee club, and French club. He began studying at NYU but soon after dropped out. He then attended Ursinus college but then left, on his father's advice, to Austria for the meat import business. He left there mere months before it was annexed by Nazi Germany. Back in the US he again attended Ursinus and again dropped out. He then went to Columbia University for a writing class. Here he did not stand out till late in the second semester when suddenly he wrote three skillful stories. His teacher then published his debut short story in Story magazine.

__World War II__
In the spring of 1942 after the United States entered WWII J.D. Salinger was drafted by the Army. He saw combat with the 12th regiment and the 4th Infantry division. He was in active duty during D-Day, The Battle of the Bulge, and The Huertgen forest campaign. In the campaign from Normandy to Germany he arranged to meet with Ernest Hemmingwaywho was impressed with Salinger's Writings. Salinger later recalled that this was one of the better memories of the war.  =__**Life After War**__= J.D. Salinger's wife Sylvia Welter shortly after they returned from war she left him and went back to Europe. Salinger published one of his best sellers "The Catcher in the Rye" in July of 1951. Then in 1953 he moved to Cornish, New Hampshire and published "Nine Stories" which became an instant bestseller. J.D. Salinger remarries in 1955 to Claire Alison Douglas, and in the same year has a daughter, naming her Margaret Ann. Five years later the couple have their second child a son named Matthew. In 1961 he plublished "Franny and Zooey" and it became #1 on New York Times Bestsellers list. In 1965 Salinger published his last work, " Hapworth 16, 1924". Salinger and Douglas divorce in 1967 after being married 12 years. Later in 1991 Salinger remarries again this time to Colleen O'Neill, who was 40 years younger than him. In 2009 Salinger wins his lawsuit to stop the publication of an unauthorized sequel of "The Catcher in the Rye". One year later, in 2010 J.D. Salinger passed away at the age of 91 in Cornish, New Hampshire.