© 2016 Larry D. Moore[1]
YEAR | PLACE | EVENT | AGE |
1937 | Honolulu/Hawaii (USA) | 20th of March: Lois (originally Cena) Lowry is born. She is the middle child of three. Her parents are Norwegian (father) and German, English, Scots-Irish (mother). | |
1939 | Brooklyn/New York (USA) | Her father was a dentist in the US military and like many military families, they had to move often. This was the first relocation of Lois’ life. | 2 |
1942 | Carlisle/Pennsylvania (USA) | When her father had to serve on a hospital ship in the Pacific during World War 2, the rest of the family moved back to Lois’ mother’s hometown. | 5 |
1948– 1950 | Tokyo (Japan) | Her father was stationed in Japan and the family lived on a military base for a couple of years. Lois returned to the US to attend high school. | 11–13 |
1954– 1956 | Providence/Rhode Island (USA) | Lois studied at Pembroke College for two years until she married Donald Lowry. | 17–19 |
1956– 1972 | Many locations | Donald Lowry was also in the US military and the young family (Lois was to have 4 children during the early years of their marriage) moved often during this period, as he was stationed at different military bases around the country. They eventually settled after his retirement in Portland, Maine, where Lois finished her studies and graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in English Literature. | 19–35 |
1963 | Washington D.C. (USA) | Lois’ older sister Helen dies of cancer, aged 28. This event inspires her first novel. | 26 |
1977 | Maine (USA) | Lowry is commissioned by the publisher Houghton Mifflin to write a book, which becomes her first published novel, A Summer to Die. Lois and Donald divorce. | 40 |
1979 | Boston/Massachusetts (USA) | After her divorce Lois moved to live and work in Boston. | 42 |
1990 | Chicago (USA) | Newbery Award for the novel Number the Stars. | 53 |
1993 | Boston (USA) | The Giver is published. | 56 |
1994 | Chicago (USA) | Second Newbery Award for The Giver. | 57 |
1995 | Spangdahlem Air Base/ Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany) | Her second son Grey, a pilot in the US Air Force, is killed when his plane crashes. Lois describes this event as the most difficult day of her life. | 58 |
2014 | New York | Film adaptation of The Giver. | 77 |
2018 | Massachusetts and Maine (USA) | Lowry currently lives in the US states of Massachusetts and Maine. | 81 |