Author. He was an American author of the 20th century, who wrote about the countercultural movement of the 1950s and 1960s that rejected the mores of mainstream American. He published at least 15 novels plus collections of poetry, which he read for recordings. Most of his work was autobiographical. Born Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouacson, the youngest of three children of French-Canadian immigrants who settled in Lowell, Massachusetts, he could speak English, as a second language but only with a heavy French accent. Receiving a football scholarship, he left the local high school to attend a private high school in New York City, Horace Mann School, where he wrote for the school newspaper and published short stories. In 1940 he enrolled in Columbia University and even played football but, after breaking a leg, the school and sports were ended after a year. During World War II, he served as a United States Merchant Mariner from July to October 1942. In 1943, he joined the Navy Reserve, served eight days of active duty before eventually being honorably discharged on psychiatric grounds. In 1950 he published his first novel, "The Town and the City." His most famous work was "The Beat Generation" however, his 1957 book "On the Road" best mirrored his own life and brought almost instant fame and recognition. The character he described could have been himself, one who was a nobody propelled to a short span of greatness and fame, then it was back to being a nobody. The book "On the Road" became a success, ranking at #55 in the 100 Best English-speaking Novels of the 20th Century by "Time" magazine and Random House publishing. In 2012, the book was adapted into a film debuting at Cannes Film Festival and being nominated for awards. All his published works were accomplished in a short span of time in the 1950s. He became hindered and consumed by alcoholism, succumbing to cirrhosis of the liver at St Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. His remains were shipped back to his boyhood home of Lowell, and after a mass at St. Jean Baptiste Cathedral, where he served as an altar boy, he was interred in the family Plot at Edson Cemetery.