Kurt Vonnegut - life - born in Indianapolis in 1922 - His father was an architect and his mother was a noted beauty - Both spoke German fluently but declined to teach Kurt the language in light of widespread anti-German sentiment following World War I - The Great Depression hit hard in the 1930s, though, and the family placed Kurt in public school. - He attended college at Cornell - While in high school, Vonnegut edited the school's daily newspaper .