Literature · Media · 1932–2018

V. S. Naipaul — Age & Birthday

Born: 17 August 1932 · Died: 11 August 2018 · Age at death: 85

How old was V. S. Naipaul when he died?

V. S. Naipaul died aged 85. He was born on 17 August 1932 and died on 11 August 2018.

Trinidad-born British writer of A House for Mr Biswas and A Bend in the River who won the Booker and Nobel prizes

Did you know?He was born in Trinidad but moved to England to study at Oxford University on a government scholarship.

Quick facts

  • Date of birth17 August 1932
  • Date of death11 August 2018
  • Age at death85
  • NationalityTrinidadian-British
  • BirthplaceChaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Occupationwriter, novelist, journalist

Editor's Take:

V. S. Naipaul was one of the most gifted and most combative writers of his time. He grew up in an Indian family in Trinidad and won a scholarship to Oxford. A House for Mr Biswas, based on his father's life, is often seen as his masterpiece. He wrote unsparingly about post-colonial societies in the Caribbean, Africa and India. His travel books were as admired as his novels. His sharp, sometimes cruel opinions caused frequent controversy. He won the Booker Prize in 1971. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidad-born British writer renowned for his works of fiction and nonfiction in English.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Profile

V. S. Naipaul: Nobel-Winning Novelist

Trinidadian-British writer, 1932–2018

V. S. Naipaul was born in Chaguanas, Trinidad, on 17 August 1932.

He wrote A House for Mr Biswas in 1961.

He won the Booker Prize in 1971.

He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

Career highlights

  1. 1950Oxford: scholarship
  2. 1961A House for Mr Biswas: novel
  3. 1971Booker Prize: In a Free State
  4. 1979A Bend in the River: novel
  5. 2001Nobel Prize: Literature

Did you know?He was knighted in 1990.

Age at death
85
Would be
94
Years since death
8

Explore V. S. Naipaul's birthday

Questions people ask

Frequently asked questions

When is V. S. Naipaul's birthday?
V. S. Naipaul's birthday is August 17. He was born on August 17, 1932 in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago.
How old was V. S. Naipaul when he died?
V. S. Naipaul died on August 11, 2018, aged 85.
Who shares a birthday with V. S. Naipaul?
Famous people who share V. S. Naipaul's August 17 birthday include Robert De Niro, Herta Müller, Pierre de Fermat, Mae West and Thierry Henry.

Born on the same day6

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Robert De Nirob. 1943

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Mae West1893–1980

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Thierry Henryb. 1977

Thierry Henry

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Reviewed by the Who Shares My Birthday editorial team.

Last reviewed: October 2026