A. N. Wilson
A provocative and prolific man of letters whose sharp pen has dissected British society, faith, and literary giants with equal fearlessness.
Born 1950 (age 76)·English writer and newspaper columnist·Birthday: October 27·Baby Boomers
Biography
A.N. Wilson is a literary shapeshifter, impossible to pin down. He emerged from Oxford as a novelist of witty social observation before establishing himself as a biographer of startling insight and occasional controversy, taking on figures like C.S. Lewis, Jesus, and Queen Victoria. His work is characterized by a formidable intellect paired with a journalist's appetite for the revelatory detail and the contrarian argument. A fixture in British newspapers, his columns are trenchant, wide-ranging, and often delightfully prickly, covering politics, religion, and culture with a personal, conversational flair. Wilson's own spiritual journey—from devout Anglican to vocal atheist and back to a nuanced faith—mirrors the intellectual restlessness that defines his output. He remains a stimulating, sometimes maddening, voice who treats every subject, from a Tolstoy novel to a modern political scandal, as a story waiting to be unpacked with style and vigor.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
A. was born in 1950, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When A. Was Born
The biggest hits of 1950
#1 Movie
Cinderella
Best Picture
All About Eve
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
A.'s Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1950Born
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1955Started school
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1963Became a teenager
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Could drive
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1968Could vote
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Turned 21
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1980Turned 30
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 40
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 50
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 60
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 70
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 76 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored acclaimed biographies of major figures including Leo Tolstoy, C.S. Lewis, and Queen Victoria.
- Published over 50 books spanning fiction, biography, history, and religious commentary.
- Served as the literary editor of the London Evening Standard and has been a longtime columnist for major British publications.
Did You Know?
He won a scholarship to study medieval literature at Oxford University.
His biography 'Tolstoy' won the Whitbread Award for Biography in 1988.
He has written several successful mystery novels featuring the detective 'Rumpole of the Bailey' creator John Mortimer's daughter as a protagonist.
“The biographer is like the professional burglar, breaking into a house, rifling through certain drawers that he has good reason to think contain the jewelry and money, and triumphantly bearing his loot away.”
