Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a famous French aristocrat, writer, poet and pioneering aviator born in 1900. He worked as an aviator for the postal service in Africa and South America. His most famous work is the novella The Little Prince, published in 1943, which is the most translated book in French and voted the best book of the 20th century in France. During World War 2, Saint-Exupéry flew reconnaissance missions for France until his disappearance on a mission in 1944 over the Mediterranean, where he vanished without a trace.

1. Antoine de Saint-
Exupéry
29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944

2. Outline
• Biography
• Youth and aviation
• Writing career
• The Little Prince
• Saint-Exupery in the WWII
• Disappearance
• Honours
• Quotes

3. Biography
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born on 29 June
1900 and died on 31 July 1944.
He was a famous french aristocrat, writer, poet
and pioneering aviator.
He became a laureate of several of France’s
highest literary awards and also won the U.S.
National Book Award.

5. Youth and aviation
He was born in Lyon to an aristocratic family, was the
third of five children.
Their father, an executive of the insurance brokerage,
died unexpectedly and it had a great affect on the entire
family, transforming their status to “impoverished
aristocrats”.
At the age of 15 his
brother François
tragically died of
rheumatic fever. This
tragedy almost broke
his life.

6. • In his early years he failed twice his final
exams at a preparatory Naval Academy.
• Saint-Exupéry entered the École des Beaux-
Arts as an auditor to study architecture for 15
months without graduating it.
• In 1921, Saint-Exupéry began his military
service with the 2e Régiment de chasseurs à
cheval(2nd Regiment of light cavalry) and was
sent to Neuhof, near Strasbourg.

7. • By 1926, Saint-Exupéry became one of the
pioneers of international postal flight
• He worked for Aeropostale between Toulouse
and Dakar
• In 1929, Saint-Exupéry was transferred
to Argentina, where he was appointed
director of theAeroposta Argentina airline.

8. Writing career
• Saint-Exupéry's first novella, L'Aviateur (The
Aviator), was published in a short-lived literary
magazine le Navire d'argent (The Silver Ship)
• The 1931 publication of Vol de nuit (Night
Flight) established Saint-Exupéry as a rising
star in the literary world. He won the prix
Femina

9. • Saint-Exupéry continued to write until the
spring of 1943, when he left the United States
with American troops bound for North Africa
in World War II.

10. The Little Prince
• first published in 1943
• is both the most-read and most-translated
book in the French language
• was voted the best book of the 20th century
in France. Translated into more than 250
languages and dialects

12. Saint-Exupery in the WWII
• In April 1943 Saint-Exupéry departed with an
American military convoy for Algiers, to fly with
the Free French Air Force and fight with the Allies in
a Mediterranean-based squadron
• Saint-Exupéry had been suffering pain and
immobility due to his many previous crash injuries,
to the extent that he could not dress himself in his
own flight suit or even turn his head leftwards to
check for enemy aircraft

13. • Saint-Exupéry was assigned with a number of
other pilots to F-5 Lightnings, which an officer
described as "war-weary, non-airworthy craft"

14. Disappearance
• Saint-Exupéry's last assigned reconnaissance mission
was to collect intelligence on German troop
movements in and around the Rhone Valley
preceding the Allied invasion of southern France
("Operation Dragoon").
• But he did not return, dramatically vanishing without
a trace. Word of his disappearance shortly spread
across the literary world and then into international
headlines.

15. Honours
• Saint-Exupéry is commemorated with an
inscription in the Panthéon in Paris, France's
repository of historical greats.

16. • From 1993 until the introduction of the euro,
Saint-Exupéry's portrait and several of his
drawings fromThe Little Prince appeared on
France's 50-franc banknote

17. Quotes
• Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in
looking outward together in the same direction.
• It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.
• Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you
who you are.
• The time for action is now. It's never too late to do
something.