Born in Paris's 8th arrondissement on 25 January 1874, William Somerset Maugham received the Companion of Honour, one of the formal recognitions that marked a career spanning fiction, drama, criticism, and the screen. His dual citizenship — holding nationality in both the United Kingdom and France — reflected a life that moved between cultures and countries, ending with his death in Nice on 16 December 1965.

Maugham's formal education took him through Heidelberg University and King's College London before he trained at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, qualifying him to work as a physician. That medical background ran alongside his literary ambitions rather than displacing them, and he ultimately pursued writing as his primary occupation, working as a novelist, playwright, prose writer, literary critic, and screenwriter across the course of his career. His roles were not confined to the desk: he also served as an army scout, an experience that added a dimension to his life distinct from the literary world.

Among his notable works in fiction are Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge, two novels that demonstrate the range of his prose writing in English. His output as a playwright ran parallel to his novels, and his work as a screenwriter extended his reach into yet another medium. As a literary critic, he engaged with the work of others, adding a reflective dimension to his public role as a writer.

In recognition of his contributions, Maugham received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse in addition to the Companion of Honour. The Library of Congress Name Authority File records him under the authorized form "Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965," a designation that has served as the standard bibliographic anchor for his extensive body of work. He died in Nice in December 1965, having maintained his connection to France — the country of his birth — throughout his long life.