Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria on November 16, 1930, the fifth of six children of Isaiah and Janet Achebe. His father was a teacher with the Church Missionary Society. When Achebe was five, his father retired, and the family moved to their ancestral village of Ogidi - into a house of earthen walls with a sheet-metal roof. When Achebe was twelve, he left home with an older brother, who taught at a school in Nekede. He eventually earned a scholarship to Government College, a secondary school. He became something of a hero in his village, acquiring the nickname "dictionary" for his knowledge of English.

After a short time as a teacher, Achebe became a producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in Lagos in 1954. Things Fall Apart was Achebe's first novel in 1958. For his contribution to African Literature, Achebe was awarded the Margaret Wong Memorial Prize in 1959, the first of many literary awards.

In 1961, Achebe became the first director of external broadcasting in Nigeria for the British Broadcasting Corporation. That same year he married Christiana Chinwe Okoli. They had two daughters and two sons. Achebe went on to write a number of other novels and short stories. His richly African stories re-create the old ways of Nigeria's Igbo people and recall the intrusion of western customs upon their traditional values. During the countrywide persecution of the Igbo in 1966, Achebe was forced to leave Lagos for eastern Nigeria. He took an active part in the struggle for independence.

Achebe became the director of African Studies at the University of Nigeria and edited Okika, a Nigerian literary journal. He lectured at American universities from 1971 to 1976 and again from 1987 to 1988. Achebe taught at the University of Nigeria, where he headed the English Department until 1981 and served as professor emeritus from 1984. In 1986, he became the prochancellor of Anambra State University of Technology. Achebe's last book, Hopes and Impediments, was published in 1988.

 

Here are some links regarding Chinua Achebe:

Chinua Achebe entry from Microsoft Encarta
Brown University Post Imperial and Post Colonial Literature in English: Achebe Overview
Brown University Post Imperial and Post Colonial Literature in English: Achebe Biography
Time Line: Important Dates in Chinua Achebe's Life
Writers Institute of New York Achebe Biography
The Earth Times/POPULATION: Chinua Achebe Named Goodwill Ambassador by the UN
Chinua Achebe Comments on the Role of the African Writer
Chinua Achebe Biography and Works
Chinua Achebe Photo
Press Release for Achebe Biography
Seattle Times Article