Widely considered one of the world’s greatest writers, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. In 1879 he entered the University of Moscow to study medicine and graduated in 1884. He kept a strict writing schedule and continued to practice medicine for the rest of his life. In addition to his numerous short stories, many considered masterpieces of the form, Chekhov wrote over a dozen plays, among them the classics of Western dramatic literature UNCLE VANYA, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, THE THREE SISTERS, and THE SEAGULL.