Agnes von Kurowsky
An American nurse in World War I whose brief romance with a young Ernest Hemingway became the heartbreak immortalized in 'A Farewell to Arms.'
1892–1984 (age 92)·American nurse, muse for Ernest Hemingway·Birthday: January 5·The Lost Generation
Biography
Agnes von Kurowsky was a 26-year-old Red Cross nurse tending to wounded soldiers in a Milan hospital in 1918 when she met 19-year-old Ernest Hemingway, an ambulance driver recovering from shrapnel wounds. Their relationship, a whirlwind of care and promised plans, ended when Agnes wrote to Hemingway that she had become engaged to an Italian officer. This personal devastation for the aspiring writer was transmuted into one of literature's great tragic love stories. While von Kurowsky lived a full, private life as a librarian, marrying and having a family, she remained forever tied to the Hemingway myth. She represents the real human figure behind a fictional archetype, her choices inadvertently fueling a masterpiece of modern fiction.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Agnes was born in 1892, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Agnes Was Born
The biggest hits of 1892
Agnes's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1892Born
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Started school
President: William McKinley
1905Became a teenager
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could drive
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could vote
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Turned 21
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Turned 30
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 40
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1942Turned 50
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1952Turned 60
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1962Turned 70
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1972Turned 80
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1984Died at 92
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
Key Achievements
- Served as a nurse for the American Red Cross in Italy during World War I.
- Her relationship with Ernest Hemingway directly inspired the central romance in his novel 'A Farewell to Arms.'
- Had a long career as a librarian for the New York Public Library and later in Florida.
Did You Know?
She was eight years older than Ernest Hemingway when they met.
After breaking off the relationship, she did not marry the Italian officer but later married an American writer and painter, William Stanfield.
She lived to be 92 and gave several interviews about her time with Hemingway later in life.
Her personal diaries and letters are held in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
“I am not prepared to be a wife to anyone, least of all a boy.”
