Neal Cassady was an American Beat poet and writer who is best known for his association with Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1926 and died in Mexico in 1968. He was a major figure in the Beat movement and was immortalized in Kerouac's novel On the Road. Cassady was also a key figure in the counterculture of the 1960s and was a major influence on the hippie movement.