Clive Staples Lewis was an author and professor, who was born on this day in 1898 in Belfast, Ireland.
Although he was raised in the Church of Ireland, Lewis became an atheist at age 15. When World War I broke out, he enlisted in the British army. After the way, he resumed his studies, and eventually became a professor of English literature at Oxford University.
It was there that he met author J.R. Tolkien, who would later write The Lord of the Rings. The two became lifelong friends. Tolkien, a Catholic convert, tried unsuccessfully to convince Lewis to also become a Catholic.
By 1929, Lewis began his journey back to God, which he chronicled in his autobiography, Surprised by Joy. He called himself "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England ... kicking, struggling, resentful and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape."
Christian themes were often found in his writings, particularly his series of young adult books, The Chronicles of Narnia.
C.S. Lewis died November 22, 1963, the same day that U.S. president John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
- Little Blue Book, Diocese of Saginaw