Àdàkọ:Eastern Slavic name Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Rọ́síà: Анто́н Па́влович Че́хов, pípè [ɐnˈton ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕexəf]; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practised as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress." Old Style date 17 January. Old Style date 2 July. "Russian literature; Anton Chekhov". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 June 2008.  "Greatest short story writer who ever lived." Raymond Carver (in Rosamund Bartlett's introduction to About Love and Other Stories, XX); "Quite probably. the best short-story writer ever." A Chekhov Lexicon, by William Boyd, The Guardian, 3 July 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2007. "Stories… which are among the supreme achievements in prose narrative."