Leicester Clarence Hemingway (April 1, 1915 – September 13, 1982) was an American writer. He was the younger brother of writer
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
and wrote six books, including a first novel entitled ''The Sound of the Trumpet'' (1953), based on Leicester's experiences in France and Germany during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In 1961, Leicester published ''My Brother, Ernest Hemingway'',
a biography. The work was well-received and brought Leicester both recognition as a writer in his own right and significant financial rewards. With the capital from the work, Hemingway created the
micronation
A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified se ...
of
New Atlantis
''New Atlantis'' is an incomplete utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, ''Sylva Sylvarum'' (forest of materials). In ''New Atlan ...
on a raft off the coast of Jamaica,
intended to serve as a marine research headquarters. The project was cut short when New Atlantis was destroyed in a 1966
tropical storm
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
.
Early life and family
Hemingway was born in
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...
, to Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a physician, and
Grace Hall Hemingway
Grace Ernestine Hall Hemingway ( Hall; June 15, 1872 – June 28, 1951) was an American opera singer, music teacher, and painter. She was Ernest Hemingway's mother.
Early life
Grace Ernestine Hall was born on June 15, 1872 in Chicago. ...
, a musician. He was the youngest of six siblings, the others being Marcelline (1898 - 1963),
Ernest
Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...
(1899 - 1961), Ursula (1902 - 1966), Madelaine (1904 - 1995), and Carol (1911 - 2002).
Personal life
Hemingway married twice. With his first wife, Patricia "Patti" Shedd, he had two sons, Jacob Edmonds and Peter. With his second wife, Doris Mae Dunning, he had two daughters, Anne and author
Hilary Hemingway
Hilary Hemingway (born 1961) is an American author. She grew up in Miami Beach, and, as of 2016, lives on Cape Coral.
Many of her earlier published works were co-authored with her husband, Jeff Lindsay. She produced a 2002 documentary for PBS ti ...
.
Suicide
In 1982, Hemingway killed himself with a gunshot to the head,
Michael Largo - ''Genius and Heroin''
/ref> after having suffered several years from Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...
, which required several operations.
New Atlantis
Hemingway founded his micronation of New Atlantis on an 8 foot by 30 foot (2.5 m x 9 m) raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrel ...
he had towed 12 nautical miles
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...
(22 km) out from Jamaica, in July 1964. He utilized the 1856 Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act (, enacted August 18, 1856, codified at §§ 1411-1419) is a United States federal law passed by the U.S. Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession, in the name of the United States, of unclaim ...
to claim half of the raft as a new nation and half for the United States. Hemingway also "wrote" a constitution, which was a copy of the U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
with the words "New Atlantis" substituted for "United States". New Atlantis' purpose was to generate money for oceanographic research by selling coins and stamps. In 1966, the micronation was ravaged by a storm and then ransacked by fishermen.
References
Sources
Leicester Hemingway, 1915-1982; New Atlantis Collection, 1964-66
Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin
* Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Republics of the Reefs: Nation-Building on the Continental Shelf and in the World's Oceans", ''California Western Journal of International Law'', vol. 25, no. 1, Fall, 1994, pp. 104–05.
* Family records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemingway, Leicester
1915 births
1982 deaths
Micronational leaders
Writers from Oak Park, Illinois
Hemingway family
20th-century American writers
20th-century American male writers
1982 suicides
Suicides by firearm in Florida