William Faulkner was born in 1897 to a wealthy plantation family in Mississippi. He drew much of his literary inspiration from his Southern upbringing. Fourteen of his nineteen novels were set in fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on the county where he grew up. Events, characters, and stories from his childhood populated his works, including a murder he witnessed as a young boy. Faulkner's experiences listening to tales told by former slaves and Confederate soldiers influenced his writing and understanding of Southern heritage.

6. William Cuthbert Faulkner Awarded 1949 Nobel Peace Prize for Literature