Heinrich B�ll was born in Cologne, Germany on December 21, 1917. He studied German at the University of Cologne. He was drafted into military service in 1938 shortly after he finished his schooling and served several years in the infantry before his demobilization in 1945. His first novel, Der Zug war p�nktlich (The Train Was on Time), was published in 1949. His other works include Billiards at Half-Past Nine, The Clown, Absent without Leave, Enter and Exit, and The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. He received numerous awards including the Georg B�chner Prize in 1967 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972. He died on July 16, 1985 at the age of 67.