Born: 12 March 1922 · Died: 21 October 1969 · Age at death: 47
How old was Jack Kerouac when he died?
Jack Kerouac died aged 47. He was born on 12 March 1922 and died on 21 October 1969.
Influential novelist and leading figure of the Beat Generation
Did you know?He wrote his famous novel On the Road on a 120-foot scroll of paper to avoid interrupting his flow.
Quick facts
Date of birth12 March 1922
Date of death21 October 1969
Age at death47
Cause of deathInternal bleeding
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceLowell, United States
Occupationwriter, poet, novelist
Editor's Take:
Jack Kerouac wrote fast, jazzy prose about restless young Americans crossing the country in search of experience. On the Road made him the reluctant spokesman of the Beat Generation. It inspired hitchhikers and rebels for decades. He also explored Buddhism in The Dharma Bums. Fame sat badly with him, and he drank heavily. He died at 47. His idea of spontaneous writing still divides critics. Yet his books remain a lasting picture of post-war American freedom.
Key Milestones
1950: Publishes The Town and the City
1951: Types the On the Road scroll
1957: Publishes On the Road
1958: Publishes The Dharma Bums
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian parentage, Kerouac was raised in a French-speaking home in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Jack Kerouac's birthday is March 12. He was born on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, United States.
How old was Jack Kerouac when he died?
Jack Kerouac died on October 21, 1969, aged 47.
Who shares a birthday with Jack Kerouac?
Famous people who share Jack Kerouac's March 12 birthday include George Berkeley, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Mitt Romney, Liza Minnelli and Gustav Kirchhoff.
