Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich

CHEKHOV, ANTON PAVLOVITCH, a Russian author, born at Taganrog, in 1860. He studied medicine at the Moscow University, but soon engaged upon a literary career. His first writings were of a humorous nature and were immediately successful. He soon wrote in a more serious vein and was proclaimed by literary circles to be the greatest figure in Russian literature since the days of Turgenev. He wrote over 150 short stories, a number of plays, and one complete novel. Comparatively few of his writings have been translated into English. These are stories which have appeared in magazines. Among his plays, accessible in the English, are "The Sea Gull" (1905); "The Cherry Garden" (1908); "The Swan Song" (1912), and "Uncle Vanya" (1912).