Background and career
George Santayana (born Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) was a Spanish American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, he moved to the United States at the age of eight.
As a philosopher, Santayana is known for aphorisms, such as "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it", and "Only the dead have seen the end of war", and his definition of beauty as "pleasure objectified".
Although an atheist, Santayana respected the culture of the Spanish Catholic values, practices, and worldview, in which he was raised. As an intellectual, George Santayana was a broad-range cultural critic in several academic disciplines.
At the age of 48, he left his academic position at Harvard University and permanently returned to Europe; his last will was to be buried in the Spanish Pantheon in the Campo di Verano, Rome.
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