Before the Play: The Timeline of Arthur Miller and Inge Morath

Fall begins right around the premiere of Arthur Miller's play After the Fall and carries through into the 21st century. The real-life events preceding the play - such as how Inge Morath and Miller met, married, and gained their individual reputations as accomplished artists - offer insight into this fascinating story. Learn more about the timeline of the lives of Inge Morath and Arthur Miller before the play Fall begins.

Inge Morath and Arthur Miller in Roxbury, 1975; photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.

1915

Arthur Miller is born in Manhattan to Augusta & Isidore Miller, both Jewish immigrants from Poland.

1923

Inge Morath is born in Graz, Austria. Both her parents were scientists.

1929

Isidore Miller, who had invested extensively in stocks, takes a hard hit in the stock market crash and ensuing Depression.

1940

Miller marries his college sweetheart, Mary Grace Slattery.

Inge Morath is forced to work at Templeh of Airport for six months, due to her refusal to join the Hitler Youth organization.

1944

Miller’s play The Man Who Had All the Luck opens on Broadway, but closes after only four performances.

Morath graduates from Berlin University with a degree in romance languages. She becomes a European interpreter for the United States Information Services.

1947

All My Sons becomes an instant hit, winning two Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.

1949

Death of a Salesman opens to huge acclaim on Broadway. The play wins the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award.

Morath becomes assistant to Austrian photographer Ernst Haas.

Arthur Miller and Inge Morath in 1962

1951

Miller meets actress Marilyn Monroe and they have a brief affair.

Morath moves to London and begins taking her own photographs. She briefly marries British writer Lionel Birch; they split after three weeks.

1953

The Crucible opens on Broadway.

1954

Morath publishes her first book, Fiesta in Pamplona.

1955

Morath is invited to join Magnum Photos.

Playwright Arthur Miller testifies before a House Un-American Activities subcommittee (1956)

1956

Miller divorces his first wife and marries Marilyn Monroe. Shortly after the marriage, Miller is called before the House Un-American Activities Committee to testify. Despite immense pressure, Miller refuses to name names. 

1960

Morath and actor Yul Brynner collaborate on Bring Forth the Children, a book on refugee camps.

Arthur Miller with the cast and director of The Misfits; photo: George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images

1961

The Misfits, a movie written by Miller and starring Monroe, premieres. Shortly afterward, the couple divorces. Monroe dies of a drug overdose 19 months later.

1962

Miller marries photographer Inge Morath, whom he met on the set of The Misfits. Their daughter Rebecca is born.