Georges Bataille

French writer, essayist, philosopher, socialist and mystic, he was interested in sex, death, and power as topics of his reflection and writings. He converted to Catholicism before World War I and served in the Army from 1916-17. He was discharged because of tuberculosis and was plagued thereafter with ill health.

Wanting to become a priest, he joined a seminary but a few years later lost his faith. He became involved with the Surrealist movement in the 1920s but was excommunicated from the inner circles by Andre Breton because Breton thought Bataille was splintering the group with his ideas. From 1922 and 1944 , Bataille was a librarian at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, but began to frequent bordellos. Resigning in 1944 he took other jobs, enduring financial difficulties. The author of many books about social organization, eroticism, and power, he died on 9 July 1962, Paris.