Profile of the Day: Jorge Luis Borges

On this day in 1899, Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Image: Jorge Luis Borges / Library of Congress

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo was born on August 24, 1899 to a well-educated middle class family in Argentina. His parents were Jorge Guillermo Borges Haslam, a lawyer and writer, and Leonor Acevedo Suârez, who was a major figure in Borge’s life and works. His mother often spoke of their family’s notable role in Argentine history. His paternal grandfather was a colonel in the Argentine Army and died at the Battle of La Verde. Borges grew up immersed in the world of books and learned to read in both Spanish and English.

Considered one of the most important writers in Latin American literature, Borges is often credited with the creation of the genre, “magical realism.” His works mixed the world of real life with the fantastic or supernatural in a way that had never been done before. Even after his death in 1986, Borges’s popularity continues to grow throughout the world.

Explore Jorge Luis Borges’s family tree on Geni and discover your connection to the Argentine writer.