Auberon Waugh
A brilliantly caustic British columnist who wielded his wit as a weapon against political correctness, pretension, and the follies of his age.
1939–2001 (age 62)·British journalist and novelist·Birthday: November 17·The Silent Generation
Biography
Auberon Waugh inhabited the role of the professional contrarian with aristocratic glee. The son of novelist Evelyn Waugh, he forged his own path in journalism, becoming most famous for his column in The Daily Telegraph and later The Independent. His writing was a sustained exercise in elaborate, often savage satire, targeting targets across the political spectrum but with particular venom for left-wing orthodoxies, the welfare state, and what he termed 'the peasantry.' He founded and edited the Literary Review and its infamous Bad Sex in Fiction Award. While his polemics could shock and infuriate, they were underpinned by a formidable intellect, a deep love of language, and an unwavering commitment to his own idiosyncratic worldview, making him one of the most distinctive and unavoidable voices of late 20th-century British letters.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Auberon was born in 1939, placing them squarely in The Silent 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 Auberon Was Born
The biggest hits of 1939
#1 Movie
Gone with the Wind
Best Picture
Gone with the Wind
Auberon's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1939Born
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1944Started school
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1952Became a teenager
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
1955Could drive
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
1957Could vote
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Turned 21
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1969Turned 30
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 40
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 50
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 60
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2001Died at 62
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
Key Achievements
- Wrote a widely read and influential weekly column for The Daily Telegraph and later The Independent for over two decades.
- Founded the Literary Review in 1979 and established its annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award.
- Authored several novels and collections of journalism, including 'The Foxglove Saga' and 'In the Lion's Den.'
Did You Know?
As a young man, he suffered a severe accident while serving in the British Army, accidentally shooting himself with a machine gun, which affected his health for life.
He was a dedicated wine critic and wrote a column on the subject under the pseudonym 'Burgundy.'
His nickname 'Bron' was used by almost everyone, including in his bylines.
“The only thing I would die for is my family, and possibly the Conservative Party, if it ever returned to its true principles.”
