What is Anton Chekhov?
[[File:Chekhov 1898 by Osip Braz.jpg|thumb|Anton Chekhov]] [[File:Chekhov Birthhouse.jpg|thumb|right|The house where Chekhov was born]] '''Anton Pavlovich Chekhov''' (January 29, 1860 - July 15, 1904) was a [[Russia]]n writer who wrote [[Short story|short stories]] and plays. == Early life == Anton Chekhov was born in [[Taganrog]], which is a city in [[Russia]]. His father, Pavel, was the owner of a grocery store. His mother, Yevgeniya, sometimes told Anton stories about her childhood. In 1876, Chekhov's father went [[bankruptcy|bankrupt]]. From then on, Chekhov's family was very poor. Anton Chekhov had to pay for his own education. He paid for it by [[tutor]]ing (teaching) other students, catching [[bird]]s and selling them, and writing short stories for newspapers. When he had extra money, he sent it to his family. While he was at school, he read many books by famous authors, for example [[Miguel de Cervantes]] and [[Arthur Schopenhauer]]. In 1879, Chekhov went to [[Moscow University]]. == Writing career == While he was at Moscow University, Chekhov wrote many short stories to pay for his schooling and to help his family. In 1886, one of the most famous newspapers in Russia, ''New Times'', asked him to write stories for them. Soon, his stories started to get famous, and other writers read his work and liked it. He wrote a book of stories called ''At Dusk'' that won the Pushkin Prize, an award for good writing. In 1887, Chekhov wrote a play called ''Ivanov''. Chekhov did not like the play, but [[critic]]s loved it. In 1890, Chekhov went to [[Sakhalin Island]], a [[penal colony]] ([[prison]]). He talked to many prisoners and found out that they were treated very badly. The prisoners were often beaten. There were also children there. He was angry, and wrote about it in a book called ''The Island Of Sakhalin'' and in a short story called ''The Murder''. In 1892, he bought a house and some land near [[Moscow]] called Melikhovo. While he was there, he helped the people who lived nearby. He brought them food a