American · 1888–1965
T.S. Eliot won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 for "his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." "The Waste Land" (1922) changed what poetry could do; "Four Quartets" (1943) completed his philosophical vision. Eliot was born in St. Louis, became a British citizen, and joined the Church of England. His criticism shaped how his century read literature.