Aldous Leonard Huxley was born on July 26, 1894 in Surrey, England. He was born to a very scholarly family, most notably his grandfather T.H. Huxley, a well-known biologist who led the battles against the Darwinian Revolution. Aldous upbringing was shaped by many diverse influences, from his brother Julian, a notable biologist, to his mother's uncle Matthew Arnold, a well-known English poet and literary critic. This mix of disciplines led to Huxley's different interests, which ranged from anthropology to zoology and from literature to mysticism. These interests eventually drove Huxley into a pursuit of a medical career as a student at Eton. When he was fourteen he lost his mother to cancer, but it did not keep him down; he managed to continue his studies. Soon after, he chose this as his life profession, Huxley was hit with keratitis, an eye disease, and went nearly blind, forcing him to rethink his goals. Eventually Huxley would return to school at Balliol College at Oxford to study English Literature and Philology. It was at Oxford were Huxley met his lifelong friend, D.H. Lawrence. Lawrence would help encourage the freedom of thought and originality that would characterize Huxley's future works. Although Huxley really got into literature he still couldn't stand the fact that he could not chase his dream of becoming a doctor. During World War I he spent a couple of years working in a government office. Soon after the war ended he wet back to Eton and taught for a couple of years. In his spare time Huxley wrote poems, essays, fiction and took a great interest in science. .
In 1919 Huxley married Maria Nys, a Belgian refugee. While together they managed to have a baby and named him Mathew. Maria would prove to be very important in Huxley's life, typing all of his manuscripts and correspondence. Huxley and his family traveled around Europe; they visited Italy, France, India and Central America.