Eugene lonesco was born on November 26,1912, in Slatina, Romania. When he was still an infant, his family moved to Paris, France, where lonesco spent much of his childhood.

When lonesco was thirteen years old, his family moved back to Romania. He attended the University of Bucharest, graduating with a degree in French. It was at this time he began to write poetry and literary criticism. After graduation, he became a teacher of French.

During the 1930s lonesco moved to Paris on a grant to study contemporary poetry. Instead of working on his proposed thesis, he went to work for a publisher and became a French citizen. During World War II he worked a variety of different jobs.

lonesco wrote his first play, The Bald Soprano, in 1948. A one-act work, it was not produced until 1950 and was initially considered a failure. Still, his reputation as a playwright...