25 Interesting Facts About Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

French writer and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was an extraordinarily talented individual with a wide range of abilities. A passionate patriot of his native country, he became a renowned military pilot while continuing his literary work and fought on the front lines of World War II, where he eventually perished. However, during his life, Saint-Exupéry created many literary masterpieces that are rightfully considered part of the world’s cultural heritage.

Facts from the Biography of Saint-Exupéry:

1. The writer came from an old noble family.
2. As a child, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s parents affectionately called him “Tonio.”
3. He was the third of five children and the one who brought global fame to his family name.
4. When Saint-Exupéry was only 4 years old, his father passed away suddenly. Since the children needed care, it was decided that he would live six months each with his grandmother and great-aunt. Later, his mother moved to the city of Le Mans and brought him and his siblings with her.
5. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry received a religious education, first at a Christian Brothers school and then at a Jesuit college.
6. The sky was Saint-Exupéry’s lifelong passion. He first took to the air at the age of 12, flying with the famous French pilot Gabriel Wroblewski.
7. In his youth, Saint-Exupéry studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts.
8. Pursuing his dream of flying, he first became a civilian pilot and then a military one.
9. As a child, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry attempted to build an airplane, or rather a glider, out of plywood, wire, and bed sheets.
10. His love of flying was also reflected in his work. His first published piece was titled “The Aviator.”
11. At the age of 23, Saint-Exupéry was involved in a plane crash and was seriously injured. After recovering, he was discharged and decided to focus on writing, moving to Paris.
12. Later, Saint-Exupéry attempted to fulfill a long-held dream of flying from France to Vietnam in his own plane, which he had purchased for this purpose. However, his plane crashed over Libya halfway through the journey, and he miraculously survived. He nearly died of thirst in the desert but was fortunately discovered and rescued by local nomads.
13. He suffered another serious accident while attempting to fly from New York to Tierra del Fuego, crashing in Guatemala.
14. For his contributions to civil aviation, Saint-Exupéry was awarded the French Legion of Honor.
15. For some time, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry worked on postal air routes, making regular flights between France and Africa.
16. During the Spanish Civil War, the writer spent a significant amount of time on the front lines as a reporter.
17. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was married, but due to various circumstances, he and his wife spent much of their time living apart.
18. It is noted in Saint-Exupéry’s biography that one of his peculiarities was his complete inability to lie. Whenever he tried to lie, he would immediately blush furiously and begin to stumble over his words.
19. At one point, he worked as a test pilot and once nearly died during tests of a new experimental seaplane.
20. During his life, Saint-Exupéry published 7 major works and around 15 shorter ones. His most famous novel is the beloved “The Little Prince,” which has been translated into more than 180 languages.
21. When World War II broke out, he volunteered for the air force and participated in several aerial battles with Third Reich pilots.
22. The writer was left-handed, unlike most people.
23. Throughout his life, Saint-Exupéry survived 15 plane crashes and was shot down in combat. The last crash proved fatal—he went missing in 1944, and it wasn’t until 2000 that the wreckage of his plane was found on the seabed. It was believed that he had died due to some malfunction, but in 2008, Horst Rippert, a former Luftwaffe pilot, revealed that he had shot down Saint-Exupéry’s plane. Interestingly, Rippert was a fan of the French writer’s work and had no idea who he was firing at. He also stated that he would not have opened fire on the French plane had he known who was at the controls.
24. The wreckage of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s plane, which he flew on his final mission, is preserved in the Air and Space Museum in Le Bourget, France.
25. The writer’s body was never found. Only fragments of his plane and a bracelet engraved with the names of Saint-Exupéry and his wife were recovered.