Guillaume Apollinaire's original name was Wilhem Apollinaris de Kostrowitzky. He is one of the most famous French poet of the 20th century. He was born in Rome from a polish mother and an italian father, who were not married.
He tried to get his baccalaureat (the diploma at the end of high school) in Nice in 1897 in the lycée Masséna but failed. He was 17.
After a few monthes in Paris, he came back to Nice and there, met "Lou", and fell in love with her. WWI began and he volunteered to fight. He wrote to her from the front line during one year. In 1915, he met an other girl in the Nice train station, Madeleine Pagès. In 1916, he came back from the war, severely wounded. He was taken to an hospital in Paris. The french citizenship and his Appolinaire name had just been officially given to him for his bravery on the front.
The enrollment office where he volunteered to fight for France is located 9 rue Alfred Mortier.
Il died in Paris on Nov. the 9th 1918, because of the spanish flu.
His books.