April 11, 2007Author Kurt Vonnegut Dies
Kurt Vonnegut Jr., internationally acclaimed novelist and and short story
writer died on April 11 in a Manhattan hospital at the age of 84. His most
recognized works include
Slaughterhouse-Five (1969),
Cat's Cradle (1963), and
Breakfast of Champions (1973).
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Kurt Vonnegut |
Vonnegut dedicated one of his last novels, A Man
Without a Country, to the life of Ignaz (Ignác) Semmelweiss.
Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician called the "savior of mothers" for
discovering in 1847 that the
incidence of
puerperal fever could be drastically cut by
use of
hand washing standards in
obstetrical clinics.
In November 2005, Ambassador András Simonyi awarded
Vonnegut the "Famous Hungarian Physicians" silver coins for his dedication
to Semmelweis and Hungarian medicine.
Ambassador Simonyi expresses his condolences and his feeling of deep loss
over Vonnegut's passing.
