The life and times of Arthur Koestler
1905: Born in Budapest
1931: Joins the Communist Party of Germany
1938: Disillusioned by Stalinism, he leaves the Communist Party
1938: He writes The Gladiators (about the revolt of Spartacus)
1940: His most famous novel, the anti-Stalinist Darkness at Noon, is published
1943: Another novel, Arrival and Departure, is published
1956: The non-fiction Reflections on Hanging, which argued against capital punishment, is published
1968: He is awarded the Sonning Prize for his “outstanding contribution to European culture"
1972: He is awarded a CBE
1983: Koestler and his wife kill themselves
1998: A biography alleging Koestler was a serial rapist is published
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