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Samuel Dashiell Hammett, one of the most proclaimed writers of his time, authored six novels and numerous short stories during his 66 years. More importantly, however, he pioneered an authentic literary form: hardboiled detective fiction.

In his teenage years, Hammett took the road of rebellion by quitting high school and working to support his family. Soon, he realized that he was unsuited for the confining ways of normal employment, and noted that he was usually fired from jobs.

At 21, he took a job with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. As an agent, he encountered many criminals and various characters. Lillian Hellman, one of Hammett’s lovers and lifelong companions, theorized that it was these experiences that formed the basis for his Communist philosophy.

After enlisting in the U.S. Army during WWI, Hammett was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In 1921, he had a child with his wife, a Red Cross nurse named Josephine Annis Dolan. Hammett worked again at Pinkerton when his tuberculosis was not debilitating.

When he was 28, Hammett decided he needed an easier job: an author. With his background, he felt like he could excel with crime stories, and he began writing for a pulp fiction magazine called Black Mask.

After another bout of illness and separation from his family, Hammett realized he wanted to leave a legacy, choosing novels as his medium. Hammett hoped his reputation would be based on his five novels: Red Harvest (1929), The Dain Curse (1929), The Maltese Falcon (1930), The Glass Key (1931), and The Thin Man (1934).

After 1934, he never finished another novel.

Hammett’s lifestyle then took a downward spiral. With almost six times the yearly income of a Depression-era upper class family, he burned through his money with drinking and womanizing.

During WWII, Hammett volunteered briefly in the Aleutians, believing that the U.S. Army was one of the only institutions fit for his belief of social equality. Hammett became a contributor to leftist causes, giving thousands of dollars to various groups, signing petitions, and appearing at rallies.

In 1951, Hammett’s affiliations with the Communist-tied Civil Rights Congress landed him in prison. When released, Hammett found himself blacklisted. He saw his name and reputation as an author fade away. Only the martini-downing sleuths Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man survived the connection with their creator.

In increasingly declining health, Hammett moved in with Hellman. He lived in her New York apartment or her home on Martha’s Vineyard until his death from lung cancer in 1961.

Hammett's burial at Arlington National Cemetery prompted strong objections from the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover. (The FBI had a 278-page file on Hammett.) However, it was determined by Arlington officials that it was an honor Hammett had earned.

His grave is marked by a standard government- issued tombstone. True to his wishes that he not be singled out among his fellow veterans, his stone simply reads, "Samuel D. Hammett," with no mention of "Dashiell."