Profile of the Day: Upton Sinclair

On this day in 1878, author Upton Sinclair was born. Sinclair is best known for his classic novel, The Jungle, which exposed the horrid conditions of the U.S. meatpacking industry.

Image: Upton Sinclair / Library of Congress

Sinclair was born on September 20, 1878 in Baltimore, Maryland to Upton Beall Sinclar, Sr. and Priscilla Harden. Although he grew up in poverty, his mother’s family was very affluent. His exposure to both social settings would later greatly influence his writings.

In 1906, Sinclair published his muckraking novel, The Jungle, which exposed the unsanitary and inhumane conditions of the meatpacking industry. The novel caused such a public uproar that it contributed in part to the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act just a few months after it was published. A prolific author, Sinclar wrote over 100 books and was known as one of the most popular authors in the first half of the 20th century. In 1943, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel Dragon’s Teeth.

Sinclair died on November 25, 1968 at the age of 90.

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