Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian playwright, short story writer, and physician. Widely considered one of the greatest writers of all time, his career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. Chekhov was a physician by profession. "Medicine is my lawful wife," he once said, "and literature is my mistress." January 29, 1860 – July 15, 1904; died at 44. Alive at the same time as Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Vincent van Gogh, and Leo Tolstoy. Wiki link