C.S. Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland on November 29, 1898. His parents were Albert Lewis and Flora Hamilton Lewis and he had an older brother named Warren Hamilton Lewis. His mother died of cancer in 1908 and shortly after her death the C.S. Lewis and his brother were sent to boarding school in England. The school closed in 1910, and he returned to Ireland. Later he was sent back to England to study. Lewis learned to love poetry and he also had an interest in modern languages. He learned and mastered French, German and Italian.
In 1916 Lewis was accepted at University College, at Oxford University. Just after he entered University Lewis chose to volunteer for duty in World War I. When the war ended, Lewis returned to Oxford and resumed his studies. In 1925 Lewis was elected to a teaching post in English at Magdalen College, Oxford. He evendtually became a professor of medieval and renaissance literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1955.
He started writing while at Magdalen College and his first major work, The Pilgrim's Regress, was about his coming to Christ. Lewis also wrote the popular children's novels about Narnia.
After his wife Joy Gresham died in 1960, Lewis's health began to deteriorate. In 1963 he resigned from Cambridge. He died on November 22, 1963.