49 moments

1. Birth in Chaguanas

   1932-08-17 · Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago

   Naipaul was born in the sugar-plantation town of Chaguanas on Trinidad. His Trinidad childhood and Indo-Caribbean family background informed much of his early fiction and later autobiographical writing.

2. Queen's Royal College schooling

   1942-01-01 · Queen's Royal College, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

   

   Naipaul began attending Queen's Royal College, the Port of Spain secondary school where he studied until 1950 and won a Trinidad Government scholarship to study abroad. The source supports attendance from 1942 through 1950; the card date marks the documented start year.

3. Arrival for Oxford study

   1950-01-01 · University College, Oxford, England, United Kingdom

   Naipaul arrived at Oxford for the Michaelmas term and began the English degree at University College that had brought him from Trinidad to Britain. The source specifies the year and academic term, not an arrival day.

4. Departure via New York

   1950-08-01 · New York, New York, United States

   Having won a scholarship to Oxford, Naipaul left Trinidad for England. His route included a Pan Am flight to New York before continuing by boat to London. The source gives the month and travel itinerary but not an exact New York arrival date.

5. Impulsive journey to Spain

   1952-04-01 · Spain

   During the Oxford vacation before Trinity term, Naipaul made an impulsive trip to Spain amid a period of depression and uncertainty about writing. The source identifies Spain but not a locality; coordinates represent Madrid as a national reference point.

6. Move to London

   1954-01-01 · London, England, United Kingdom

   After his Oxford studies, Naipaul relocated to London, where he began the difficult early phase of his literary career and soon joined the BBC's Caribbean Voices. The source places the move in the 1954–1956 period but gives no month.

7. BBC Caribbean Voices employment

   1954-12-01 · BBC Broadcasting House, London, England, United Kingdom

   Naipaul began a renewable part-time contract as presenter of the BBC weekly programme Caribbean Voices, a crucial early professional role in London. Broadcasting House is used as a defensible representative BBC location; the source does not identify a specific studio.

8. Kilburn home and marriage

   1955-01-01 · Kilburn, London, England, United Kingdom

   Naipaul moved to a small flat in Kilburn and married Patricia Ann Hale. He continued presenting Caribbean Voices while establishing himself as a writer. The exact address is not supplied.

9. Departure from Bristol for Trinidad

   1956-08-01 · Bristol, England, United Kingdom

   Naipaul boarded the TSS Cavina at Bristol for his first return to Trinidad after six years in England, beginning a two-month family visit. The source gives late August, not a specific day.

10. Two-month return to Trinidad

    1956-08-01 · Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago

    On this return to Trinidad, Naipaul spent two months with his family, accompanied a politician uncle to campaign rallies, and gathered material that later contributed to The Suffrage of Elvira. Coordinates represent Trinidad broadly because the cited statement does not specify a settlement.

11. Streatham Hill residence

    1957-01-01 · Streatham Hill, London, England, United Kingdom

    While writing A House for Mr Biswas, Naipaul and Patricia moved from Muswell Hill to an upstairs flat in Streatham Hill; he later described the home as his literary 'Eden.' The move is documented within the 1957–1960 period; no exact year or address is given.

12. Caribbean research stay

    1960-01-01 · Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

    Naipaul and Patricia spent five months in the Caribbean after he accepted a Trinidad government invitation. The journey became the basis for his first travel book, The Middle Passage. The source establishes that the five-month stay followed an invitation received in October 1960; it does not provide exact arrival and departure dates.

13. Research journey in British Guiana

    1960-01-01 · British Guiana (now Guyana)

    As part of the research journey for The Middle Passage, Naipaul and Patricia travelled in British Guiana, now Guyana. The itinerary followed the late-1960 invitation; the source supplies no locality or exact date within the journey. Coordinates represent Guyana broadly.

14. Research journey in Jamaica

    1960-01-01 · Jamaica

    Naipaul travelled in Jamaica with Patricia while researching the Caribbean societies portrayed in The Middle Passage. The itinerary followed the late-1960 invitation; the source supplies no locality or exact date within the journey. Coordinates represent Jamaica broadly.

15. Research journey in Martinique

    1960-01-01 · Martinique, France

    Naipaul travelled in Martinique with Patricia during the Caribbean research that resulted in The Middle Passage. The itinerary followed the late-1960 invitation; the source supplies no locality or exact date within the journey. Coordinates represent Martinique broadly.

16. Research journey in Suriname

    1960-01-01 · Suriname

    Naipaul travelled in Suriname with Patricia while gathering observations for The Middle Passage. The itinerary followed the late-1960 invitation; the source supplies no locality or exact date within the journey. Coordinates represent Suriname broadly.

17. First year-long visit to India

    1962-01-01 · India

    Naipaul and Patricia arrived in India for Naipaul's first visit to his ancestral land, a year-long journey that produced An Area of Darkness. Coordinates represent India broadly because the arrival location is not identified.

18. Five months at Hotel Liward

    1962-01-01 · Hotel Liward, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Naipaul and Patricia stayed for five months at the lakeside Hotel Liward in Srinagar, where he wrote fiction including Mr Stone and the Knights Companion. Coordinates are a representative point on Srinagar's lakeside hotel district; the historical hotel site's exact geocoding is uncertain.

19. Month in Bombay and Delhi

    1962-01-01 · Bombay (Mumbai), Maharashtra, India

    Soon after arriving in India, Naipaul and Patricia spent a month in Bombay and Delhi before moving on to Kashmir. The source establishes presence in both Bombay and Delhi but does not divide the month between them; this card uses Bombay as one documented stop.

20. Month in Delhi

    1962-01-01 · Delhi, India

    Naipaul and Patricia spent part of their first Indian visit in Delhi before continuing to Jammu and Kashmir. The source establishes presence in both Bombay and Delhi but does not divide the month between them; this card uses Delhi as the second documented stop.

21. Visit to Gorakhpur

    1962-01-01 · Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    During the latter part of his first year in India, Naipaul visited Gorakhpur, an experience he later described in An Area of Darkness. The visit occurred during the year-long 1962–1963 Indian stay; the source does not date it more precisely.

22. Stockwell Park Crescent home

    1964-01-01 · Stockwell Park Crescent, London, England, United Kingdom

    Naipaul and Patricia bought a three-floor house on Stockwell Park Crescent after receiving financial help from Lord Glenconner. The purchase is described in the 1964–1967 period; the source does not specify a house number or purchase date.

23. Writing in Trinidad

    1964-01-01 · Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago

    Naipaul spent several months in Trinidad writing the proposed film story that became the novella A Flag on the Island. Coordinates represent Trinidad broadly because the source does not identify a locality.

24. Journey to Tanzania with Paul Theroux

    1966-01-01 · Tanzania

    Naipaul travelled to Tanzania with Paul Theroux, whom he had met in Kampala; these East African experiences informed later writing. The source supplies no Tanzanian locality or exact date; coordinates represent Tanzania broadly.

25. Month in Mombasa

    1966-01-01 · Mombasa, Kenya

    During his African period, Naipaul and Patricia stayed for a month in Mombasa on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, travel that later fed into In a Free State. The source places the visit during the African period surrounding the 1966 Kampala fellowship but does not give a separate month or year.

26. Travel in Kisoro District

    1966-01-01 · Kisoro District, Uganda

    Naipaul and Patricia travelled in rural Kisoro District in southwestern Uganda, near the borders with Rwanda and the Congo. The source places the visit during the African period surrounding the 1966 Kampala fellowship; coordinates represent Kisoro District.

27. Writer-in-residence at Makerere

    1966-01-01 · Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Naipaul held a Writer-in-Residence fellowship at Makerere University in Kampala, where he restarted and completed The Mimic Men.

28. Arrival to cover the Michael X killings

    1971-12-01 · Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago

    Naipaul and Patricia arrived in Trinidad as reports emerged of killings at Michael X's commune in Arima. Naipaul went to cover the story. Coordinates represent Trinidad broadly; the cited arrival location is Trinidad rather than a particular settlement.

29. Visit to Michael X's commune

    1971-12-01 · Arima, Trinidad and Tobago

    While reporting the Michael X story, Naipaul visited the commune at Arima; the visit was central to his account of the Trinidad killings. The source follows the late-December 1971 arrival account but does not give a separate visit date.

30. First trip to Argentina

    1972-01-01 · Argentina

    During his first Argentine journey, Naipaul met Margaret Murray Gooding, beginning a long relationship that became part of his later personal history. The source does not identify an Argentine locality; coordinates represent Argentina broadly.

31. Second Indian visit during the Emergency

    1975-01-01 · India

    Naipaul returned to India during Indira Gandhi's Emergency, research that informed India: A Wounded Civilization. The source gives the year but no arrival locality or duration; coordinates represent India broadly.

32. Islamic journey in Malaysia

    1979-01-01 · Malaysia

    Naipaul travelled to Malaysia while pursuing the comparative Islamic journey recorded in Among the Believers. The source places Malaysia on the 1979–1980 itinerary but does not date the stop more precisely; coordinates represent Malaysia broadly.

33. Islamic journey in Pakistan

    1979-01-01 · Pakistan

    After Iran, Naipaul travelled to Pakistan as part of the research itinerary that became Among the Believers. The source establishes Pakistan as the next stop after the August 1979 Iranian visit but supplies no arrival date or locality.

34. Islamic journey in Iran

    1979-08-01 · Iran

    Naipaul began the six-month research journey for Among the Believers in Iran soon after the Iranian Revolution. The source gives a month and country but no Iranian locality; coordinates represent Iran broadly.

35. Islamic journey in Indonesia

    1980-01-01 · Indonesia

    Naipaul travelled through Indonesia on the latter part of the six-month journey that resulted in Among the Believers. The source identifies Indonesia within travel spanning 1979 and 1980 but does not give a country-specific date; 1980 reflects the latter portion of the documented itinerary.

36. Republican National Convention reporting

    1984-01-01 · Dallas, Texas, United States

    

    Naipaul attended and covered the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas for The New York Review of Books, producing the essay 'Among the Republicans.'

37. Trinity Cross visit to Trinidad

    1989-01-01 · Piarco International Airport, Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago

    After receiving Trinidad and Tobago's Trinity Cross, Naipaul was at Piarco International Airport while returning to London and spoke with reporters there. The source dates the award to 1989 and documents Naipaul at Piarco after receiving it; no exact airport date is supplied.

38. Second Islamic journey in Indonesia

    1995-01-01 · Indonesia

    Naipaul revisited Indonesia on the five-month journey that later became Beyond Belief, a sequel to Among the Believers. The cited source identifies the same four countries as Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia; it does not provide a country-by-country itinerary or dates. Coordinates represent Indonesia broadly.

39. Second Islamic journey in Iran

    1995-01-01 · Iran

    Naipaul revisited Iran during the five-month research journey described in Beyond Belief. The cited source identifies the same four countries as Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia; it does not provide a country-by-country itinerary or dates. Coordinates represent Iran broadly.

40. Second Islamic journey in Malaysia

    1995-01-01 · Malaysia

    Naipaul revisited Malaysia during the five-month research journey later published as Beyond Belief. The cited source identifies the same four countries as Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia; it does not provide a country-by-country itinerary or dates. Coordinates represent Malaysia broadly.

41. Second Islamic journey in Pakistan

    1995-01-01 · Pakistan

    Naipaul revisited Pakistan during the five-month journey that supplied material for Beyond Belief. The cited source identifies the same four countries as Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia; it does not provide a country-by-country itinerary or dates. Coordinates represent Pakistan broadly.

42. Nobel Lecture at the Swedish Academy

    2001-12-07 · Börssalen, Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden

    Naipaul delivered his Nobel Lecture, 'Two Worlds,' in Börssalen at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm after receiving the 2001 Nobel Prize in Literature.

43. African research journey in Côte d'Ivoire

    2008-01-01 · Côte d'Ivoire

    Naipaul visited Côte d'Ivoire, identified in the source as Ivory Coast, during research for The Masque of Africa. The scholarly source gives 2008 and countries but no locality or itinerary dates; coordinates represent Côte d'Ivoire broadly.

44. African research journey in Gabon

    2008-01-01 · Gabon

    Naipaul visited Gabon during the African travels that produced his last nonfiction book, The Masque of Africa. The scholarly source gives 2008 and countries but no locality or itinerary dates; coordinates represent Gabon broadly.

45. African research journey in Ghana

    2008-01-01 · Ghana

    Naipaul visited Ghana while researching African religious belief and ritual for The Masque of Africa. The scholarly source gives 2008 and countries but no locality or itinerary dates; coordinates represent Ghana broadly.

46. African research journey in Nigeria

    2008-01-01 · Nigeria

    Naipaul visited Nigeria during the research journey for The Masque of Africa. The scholarly source gives 2008 and countries but no locality or itinerary dates; coordinates represent Nigeria broadly.

47. African research journey in South Africa

    2008-01-01 · South Africa

    Naipaul visited South Africa during the research travels behind The Masque of Africa. The scholarly source gives 2008 and countries but no locality or itinerary dates; coordinates represent South Africa broadly.

48. African research journey in Uganda

    2008-01-01 · Uganda

    Naipaul visited Uganda during the African research travel that became The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief. The scholarly source gives 2008 and countries but no locality or itinerary dates; coordinates represent Uganda broadly.

49. Death at his London home

    2018-08-11 · London, England, United Kingdom

    

    Naipaul died at home in London shortly before his eighty-sixth birthday, ending a literary career of more than five decades. The source does not publish the home address; coordinates represent London.