Born June 29th, 1900, in Lyon - died July 31st, 1944, near Marseille (plane crash). Count Antoine Marie Roger de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer and aviator. On July 31st, 1944, Saint-Exupéry flew his last mission to collect data on German troop movements during World War II. He never returned from his mission. His first book was published in 1928.