On 4 January 1960, Albert Camus, the renowned French author and philosopher, tragically lost his life in a car accident at the age of 46. A towering figure in 20th-century literature, Camus was celebrated for works such as The Stranger (L’Étranger), The Plague (La Peste), and The Fall (La Chute), which delved deeply into themes of existentialism, absurdism, and the human condition. His philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus (Le Mythe de Sisyphe) remains one of the definitive texts exploring the concept of the absurd. In 1957, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming one of its youngest recipients.
Camus was not only a literary giant but also a passionate football enthusiast. During his youth in Algiers, he actively played as a goalkeeper for local teams, crediting football with shaping his understanding of morality and responsibility. “Everything I know about morality and duty, I owe to football,” he once wrote. Unfortunately, his promising football pursuits came to an abrupt end when he contracted tuberculosis, a condition that would affect him throughout his life.
Camus’s untimely death shocked the literary world. The accident occurred near Sens, France, when the car, driven by his publisher Michel Gallimard, veered off the road. Among Camus’s belongings was a train ticket, a poignant reminder that he had initially planned to travel by rail but chose the car journey at the last moment. His legacy endures, with his works continuing to inspire readers worldwide.
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