Meet Kurt Vonnegut - Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library
Source: https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/meet-kurt-vonnegut
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:36
Meet Kurt Vonnegut - Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library
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A Lifetime of Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most influential American writers and thinkers of the 20th century. Vonnegut’s work shakes traditional values, while offering offbeat and time-warping, alternative views of life.
Full Biography
December 19th, 1944
WWII Prisoner
KV is captured at the Battle of the Bulge and taken to Dresden.
December 19th, 1944
May 14th, 1944
Edith Vonnegut Passes Away
Kurt Vonnegut’s mother dies of an overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills.
May 14th, 1944
1943
Enters the United States Army
takes engineering courses at Carnegie and the University of Tennessee
1943
1940-1943
KV studies Chemistry at Cornell University
takes a few courses in Journalism at Butler.
1940-1943
1936-1940
KV attends Shortridge High School
and writes for the newspaper, the Shortridge Daily Echo.
1936-1940
November 11th 1922
Kurt Vonnegut is born
He was the third and last child (preceded by Bernard and Alice) of Kurt Sr. and Edith (Lieber) Vonnegut.
November 11th 1922
February 13th, 1945
Bombing of Dresden
Survives the bombing of Dresden as a POW held captive in an underground slaughterhouse
February 13th, 1945
September 1st, 1945
Ties the knot
KV marries Jane Cox in Indianapolis.
September 1st, 1945
May, 11th 1947
Kurt’s son Mark is born
May, 11th 1947
December 29th, 1949
Kurt’s Daughter Edith Is Born
December 29th, 1949
1950
Report on the Barnhouse Effect is published
KV has his short story Report on the Barnhouse Effect published by Colliers magazine, quits GE, and moves his family to Barnstable, Massachusetts
1950
1952
KV publishes his first novel, Player Piano
1952
1961
Kurt Publishes Mother NIght
1961
1961
Short Story Collection
Kurt Vonnegut publishes his first collection of short stories, Canary in a Cat House.
1961
1959
Kurt publishes The Sirens of Titan
1959
1958
Adoption
Kurt’s sister Alice dies of cancer, and her husband James passes away in a commuter train accident 48 hours previously. KV and Jane adopt 4 of Alice’s children.
1958
October 1st, 1957
Kurt’s Father Passes Away
October 1st, 1957
October 4th, 1954
Kurt’s Daughter Nanette is Born
October 4th, 1954
1963
Cat’s Cradle Is Published
1963
1965
Vonnegut publishes God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
KV publishes God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and begins a two-year residency at the University of Iowa’s Writers Workshop.
1965
1967
Kurt Vonnegut publishes his masterpiece, Slaughterhouse-Five
1967
1968
Welcome to the Monkey House is Published
1968
1970
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
Kurt and Jane separate, he moves alone to New York City and produces his play Happy Birthday, Wanda June
1970
1973
Kurt Publishes Breakfast of Champions
1973
1974
Kurt publishes his first collection of nonfiction, Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons
1974
1976
Slapstick is Published
1976
1979
Kurt & Jane Divorce
KV and Jane divorce, he marries photographer Jill Krementz, and releases the novel Jailbird
1979
1981
Palm Sunday is Published
KV publishes his second collection of non-fiction, Palm Sunday
1981
1982
Deadeye Dick is Published
KV publishes Deadeye Dick, and Kurt and Jill adopt a daughter named Lilly
1982
1985
Galapagos is Published
1985
1987
Kurt Vonnegut Publishes Bluebeard
1987
1990
Kurt publishes Hocus Pocus
1990
1991
Publishes Fates Worse than Death
another non-fiction collection
1991
1993
Collaboration With Joe Petro III
KV meets screenprinter Joe Petro III and they begin a visual art collaboration that lasts until KV’s death in 2007
1993
1997
KV publishes his self-described “last novel” Timequake.
1997
2005
A Man Without a Country is Published
Kurt Vonnegut publishes his last major work, A Man Without a Country, a non-fiction work
2005
April 11, 2007
Kurt Vonnegut Passes Away
Three weeks after a fall on the steps of his Manhattan brownstone, Kurt Vonnegut passes away.
April 11, 2007
Writings & Publications
Novels
Novel
Timequake
(1997)
Novel
Hocus Pocus
(1990)
Novel
Bluebeard
(1987)
Novel
Galápagos: A Novel
(1985)
Novel
Deadeye Dick
(1982)
Novel
Jailbird
(1979)
Novel
Slapstick
or Lonesome No More (1976)
Novel
Breakfast of Champions
or Goodbye Blue Monday (1973)
Novel
Slaughterhouse-Five
or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death (1969)
Novel
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
or Pearls Before Swine (1965)
Novel
Mother Night
(1961)
Novel
Sirens of Titan
(1959)
Novel
Cats Cradle
(1963)
Novel
Player Piano
(1952); pub. as Utopia 14 (1954); repub. as Player Piano (1966)
Collections
Collections
If This Isn’t Nice, What Is? Advice for the Young
Collections
Sucker’s Portfolio: A Collection of Previously Unpublished Writing
Collections
Kurt Vonnegut: Letters
Collections
We Are What We Pretend to Be: The First and Last Works
Collections
Kurt Vonnegut: The Cornell Sun Years 1941-1943
Collections
While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction
Collections
Look at the Birdie: Unpublished Short Fiction
Collections
Armageddon in Retrospect
Collections
A Man Without a Country: A Memoir Of Life In George W. Bush’s America
Collections
God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian
Collections
Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction
Collections
Fates Worse than Death : an Autobiographical Collage of the 1980s
Collections
Nothing Is Lost Save Honor: Two Essays
Collections
Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons
Collections
Welcome to the Monkey House: A Collection of Short Works
Plays
Plays
L’Histoire du Soldat
Plays
Miss Temptation
Plays
Make Up Your Mind
Plays
Between Time and Timbuktu/ Prometheus-5: A Space Fantasy
Plays
Penelope/Happy Birthday, Wanda June/Fortitude
Collaborations
Collaboratons
Sun Moon Star
Collaboratons
Like Shaking Hands with God
Kathi Badertscher, PhD
Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Kathi Badertscher, PhD, is Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Dr. Badertscher teaches a variety of BA, MA, and doctoral courses, including Applying Ethics in Philanthropy and History of Philanthropy. She has participated in several Teaching Vonnegut workshops and is a member of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
Dr. Badertscher has been a guest speaker on ethics in philanthropy, including at the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners – Indianapolis Council; Association of Fundraising Professionals – Indiana Chapter; and Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China. In 2019 she received IUPUI Office for Women, Women’s Leadership Award for Newcomer Faculty. In 2019 and 2020 she received the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Graduate Teaching Award.
Dr. Badertscher’s publications include “Fundraising for Advocacy and Social Change,” co-authored with Shariq Siddiqui in Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, 5th ed., 2022; “Insulin at 100: Indianapolis, Toronto, Woods Hole, and the ‘Insulin Road,’ co-authored with Christopher Rutty, Pharmacy in History (2020); and three articles in the Indiana Magazine of History: “A New Wishard Is on the Way,” “Evaline Holliday and the Work of Community Service,” and “Social Networks in Indianapolis during the Progressive Era.” Her chapters on social welfare history will appear in three upcoming edited volumes on the history of philanthropy, including “The Legacy of Edna Henry and Her Contributions to the IU School of Social Work,” Women at Indiana University: Views of the Past and the Future, edited by Andrea Walton, Indiana University Press, 2022 (forthcoming). Dr. Badertscher is also the Philanthropy and Nonprofits Consulting Editor for the forthcoming Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Elizabeth Van Allen, Indiana University Press, 2021.
Dr. Badertscher is an active volunteer in the Indianapolis community. At present, she is a
Coburn Place Safe Haven Board Member and a Children’s Bureau/Families First Brand and Marketing Advisor.
Dr. Badertscher holds the MA in History from Indiana University and the MA and PhD in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Volunteer With KVML
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Volunteer Application
Please contact
[email protected]
if you have any questions about this application’s content.
Skip to content
A Lifetime of Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most influential American writers and thinkers of the 20th century. Vonnegut’s work shakes traditional values, while offering offbeat and time-warping, alternative views of life.
Full Biography
December 19th, 1944
WWII Prisoner
KV is captured at the Battle of the Bulge and taken to Dresden.
December 19th, 1944
May 14th, 1944
Edith Vonnegut Passes Away
Kurt Vonnegut’s mother dies of an overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills.
May 14th, 1944
1943
Enters the United States Army
takes engineering courses at Carnegie and the University of Tennessee
1943
1940-1943
KV studies Chemistry at Cornell University
takes a few courses in Journalism at Butler.
1940-1943
1936-1940
KV attends Shortridge High School
and writes for the newspaper, the Shortridge Daily Echo.
1936-1940
November 11th 1922
Kurt Vonnegut is born
He was the third and last child (preceded by Bernard and Alice) of Kurt Sr. and Edith (Lieber) Vonnegut.
November 11th 1922
February 13th, 1945
Bombing of Dresden
Survives the bombing of Dresden as a POW held captive in an underground slaughterhouse
February 13th, 1945
September 1st, 1945
Ties the knot
KV marries Jane Cox in Indianapolis.
September 1st, 1945
May, 11th 1947
Kurt’s son Mark is born
May, 11th 1947
December 29th, 1949
Kurt’s Daughter Edith Is Born
December 29th, 1949
1950
Report on the Barnhouse Effect is published
KV has his short story Report on the Barnhouse Effect published by Colliers magazine, quits GE, and moves his family to Barnstable, Massachusetts
1950
1952
KV publishes his first novel, Player Piano
1952
1961
Kurt Publishes Mother NIght
1961
1961
Short Story Collection
Kurt Vonnegut publishes his first collection of short stories, Canary in a Cat House.
1961
1959
Kurt publishes The Sirens of Titan
1959
1958
Adoption
Kurt’s sister Alice dies of cancer, and her husband James passes away in a commuter train accident 48 hours previously. KV and Jane adopt 4 of Alice’s children.
1958
October 1st, 1957
Kurt’s Father Passes Away
October 1st, 1957
October 4th, 1954
Kurt’s Daughter Nanette is Born
October 4th, 1954
1963
Cat’s Cradle Is Published
1963
1965
Vonnegut publishes God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
KV publishes God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and begins a two-year residency at the University of Iowa’s Writers Workshop.
1965
1967
Kurt Vonnegut publishes his masterpiece, Slaughterhouse-Five
1967
1968
Welcome to the Monkey House is Published
1968
1970
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
Kurt and Jane separate, he moves alone to New York City and produces his play Happy Birthday, Wanda June
1970
1973
Kurt Publishes Breakfast of Champions
1973
1974
Kurt publishes his first collection of nonfiction, Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons
1974
1976
Slapstick is Published
1976
1979
Kurt & Jane Divorce
KV and Jane divorce, he marries photographer Jill Krementz, and releases the novel Jailbird
1979
1981
Palm Sunday is Published
KV publishes his second collection of non-fiction, Palm Sunday
1981
1982
Deadeye Dick is Published
KV publishes Deadeye Dick, and Kurt and Jill adopt a daughter named Lilly
1982
1985
Galapagos is Published
1985
1987
Kurt Vonnegut Publishes Bluebeard
1987
1990
Kurt publishes Hocus Pocus
1990
1991
Publishes Fates Worse than Death
another non-fiction collection
1991
1993
Collaboration With Joe Petro III
KV meets screenprinter Joe Petro III and they begin a visual art collaboration that lasts until KV’s death in 2007
1993
1997
KV publishes his self-described “last novel” Timequake.
1997
2005
A Man Without a Country is Published
Kurt Vonnegut publishes his last major work, A Man Without a Country, a non-fiction work
2005
April 11, 2007
Kurt Vonnegut Passes Away
Three weeks after a fall on the steps of his Manhattan brownstone, Kurt Vonnegut passes away.
April 11, 2007
Writings & Publications
Novels
Novel
Timequake
(1997)
Novel
Hocus Pocus
(1990)
Novel
Bluebeard
(1987)
Novel
Galápagos: A Novel
(1985)
Novel
Deadeye Dick
(1982)
Novel
Jailbird
(1979)
Novel
Slapstick
or Lonesome No More (1976)
Novel
Breakfast of Champions
or Goodbye Blue Monday (1973)
Novel
Slaughterhouse-Five
or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death (1969)
Novel
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
or Pearls Before Swine (1965)
Novel
Mother Night
(1961)
Novel
Sirens of Titan
(1959)
Novel
Cats Cradle
(1963)
Novel
Player Piano
(1952); pub. as Utopia 14 (1954); repub. as Player Piano (1966)
Collections
Collections
If This Isn’t Nice, What Is? Advice for the Young
Collections
Sucker’s Portfolio: A Collection of Previously Unpublished Writing
Collections
Kurt Vonnegut: Letters
Collections
We Are What We Pretend to Be: The First and Last Works
Collections
Kurt Vonnegut: The Cornell Sun Years 1941-1943
Collections
While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction
Collections
Look at the Birdie: Unpublished Short Fiction
Collections
Armageddon in Retrospect
Collections
A Man Without a Country: A Memoir Of Life In George W. Bush’s America
Collections
God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian
Collections
Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction
Collections
Fates Worse than Death : an Autobiographical Collage of the 1980s
Collections
Nothing Is Lost Save Honor: Two Essays
Collections
Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons
Collections
Welcome to the Monkey House: A Collection of Short Works
Plays
Plays
L’Histoire du Soldat
Plays
Miss Temptation
Plays
Make Up Your Mind
Plays
Between Time and Timbuktu/ Prometheus-5: A Space Fantasy
Plays
Penelope/Happy Birthday, Wanda June/Fortitude
Collaborations
Collaboratons
Sun Moon Star
Collaboratons
Like Shaking Hands with God
Kathi Badertscher, PhD
Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Kathi Badertscher, PhD, is Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Dr. Badertscher teaches a variety of BA, MA, and doctoral courses, including Applying Ethics in Philanthropy and History of Philanthropy. She has participated in several Teaching Vonnegut workshops and is a member of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
Dr. Badertscher has been a guest speaker on ethics in philanthropy, including at the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners – Indianapolis Council; Association of Fundraising Professionals – Indiana Chapter; and Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China. In 2019 she received IUPUI Office for Women, Women’s Leadership Award for Newcomer Faculty. In 2019 and 2020 she received the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Graduate Teaching Award.
Dr. Badertscher’s publications include “Fundraising for Advocacy and Social Change,” co-authored with Shariq Siddiqui in Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, 5th ed., 2022; “Insulin at 100: Indianapolis, Toronto, Woods Hole, and the ‘Insulin Road,’ co-authored with Christopher Rutty, Pharmacy in History (2020); and three articles in the Indiana Magazine of History: “A New Wishard Is on the Way,” “Evaline Holliday and the Work of Community Service,” and “Social Networks in Indianapolis during the Progressive Era.” Her chapters on social welfare history will appear in three upcoming edited volumes on the history of philanthropy, including “The Legacy of Edna Henry and Her Contributions to the IU School of Social Work,” Women at Indiana University: Views of the Past and the Future, edited by Andrea Walton, Indiana University Press, 2022 (forthcoming). Dr. Badertscher is also the Philanthropy and Nonprofits Consulting Editor for the forthcoming Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Elizabeth Van Allen, Indiana University Press, 2021.
Dr. Badertscher is an active volunteer in the Indianapolis community. At present, she is a
Coburn Place Safe Haven Board Member and a Children’s Bureau/Families First Brand and Marketing Advisor.
Dr. Badertscher holds the MA in History from Indiana University and the MA and PhD in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Volunteer With KVML
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Volunteer Application
Please contact
[email protected]
if you have any questions about this application’s content.