Thomas Stearns Eliot was born on September 26, 1888, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the seventh and last child of Henry Ware Eliot, a brick manufacturer, and Charlotte Eliot, who was a talented poet in his own right. Both parents were descendent from families in England that immigrated to Massachusetts in the seventeenth century. William Greenleaf Eliot, Eliot’s grandfather, moved to St. Louis after he graduated from Harvard in the 1830s. There he became a …showed first 75 words of 698 total…

…showed last 75 words of 698 total…he had never experienced before. His years were numbered however his declining health caught up to him when he died of emphysema in January 4, 1965. Eliot’s influence on modern poetry is easily recognized. He brought forth what we see poetry as today. Though his opinions of certain subjects may not be the best of interest to the public, his literary works will surpass all those doubts and be known as a influential 20th century poet.