John Dos Passos was born John Roderigo Madison in Chicago on January 14, 1896; he was the illegitimate son of Lucy Addison Sprigg Madison, from Petersburg, Virginia, and John Randolph Dos Passos, a corporation lawyer in New York. In his infancy, John traveled with his mother throughout Europe: he later described this period of his life as something of a "hotel childhood." As a result, French was his first spoken language.
He returned to the United States at the age of five, still living with his mother, whose health had begun to deteriorate due to a stroke two years before. The following year, it was back to Europe, where his mother felt more comfortable. At this point, John came down...
