Raymond Chandler, renowned mystery and hardboiled detective novelist, passed away on March 26, 1959 at the age of 70 in La Jolla, California. Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1888, he moved to Southern California with his mother and siblings at age 12 due to the death of his father. He graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1906 and attended a number of universities in the area, such as the University of Chicago and the University of Southern California, however he never graduated from any of them. He began his professional career as an oil company executive in 1912, eventually rising to become the vice president of the company, and served in WWI. He was laid off in 1932 due to the economic downturn, ending his business career at age 44. Chandler then turned his attention to writing, winning an immediate audience with his 1934 publication of his first mystery novel, The Big Sleep. He went on to write seven further novels featuring private investigator Philip Marlowe, and also wrote numerous screenplays and short stories. His work is credited with revolutionizing detective fiction and ushering in the hard-boiled school of detective writing. A fractious divorce and poignant later years resulted in an eventual decline in health, which eventually led him to euthanasia. He will be remembered for his wide-reaching influence on mystery and detective fiction and for creating the iconic, tough-talking, yet rarely violent, figure of Philip Marlowe. He will be laid to rest in Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego, California.