O. HenryPen Name of William Sydney PorterBorn September 11, 1862Died June 5, 1910

“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles

predominating.” O. Henry

1862-1877• Born in Greensboro, North Carolina• Began reading at a young age– Loved dime novels in particular– Favorite childhood book was Arabian

Nights

• Quit school at age 15 to become a pharmacist

1877-1882• At age 19, became a fully licensed

pharmacist and worked in his uncle’s drug store.

• He had quite a reputation for being a prankster.

• He was troubled with an ongoing cough which worried him because both his grandmother and mother had died of tuberculosis.

A serious disease primarily affecting the lungs.

• With his intense fear of tuberculosis, he moved to Texas, a state known for its hot, dry climate.

• Here, he took a job as a cowboy- an unusual cowboy since he was known to walk around the ranch with a pocket dictionary and a book of poems.

• In 1887 he married Athol Estes and became a bank teller.

1882-1887

1887-1901• 1894- He started a humorous weekly newspaper named

The Rolling Stone which went under after only a year.• 1896- arrested for stealing funds from the bank where

he worked.• He then fled to Honduras which is where he was when

his wife, only 29, died of tuberculosis.• 1898- his first short story was published (“Whistling

Dick’s Christmas Stocking”)• 1898-1901- served 3 years of a 5 year sentence in

prison.• 1901- released early and changed his name to O. Henry

as a way to leave his shameful past behind. (This theme of change resurfaces in many of his later short stories.)

1902-1910• 1902- moved to New York City, the setting for most of

his stories.• 1904- published his first collection of stories: Cabbages

and Kings• 1906- published his second collection of stories which

made him famous, The Four Million.• 1907- remarried to a woman named Sara Lindsay

Coleman whom he had known when he was a young boy.• The marriage was very unhappy and they were

extremely poor despite his beginning success as a writer.

• 1910- died of cirrhosis of the liver.

Pseudonym• No one knows for sure how he chose his pen name.Theories:• The European chemist O. Henry, as seen in pharmacy

magazines.• African-American ranch hand, an excellent storyteller,

named Old Henry.• Cowboy song with the line, “Oh Henry, what sentence

have you got?”• Customer at bank named Henry who was frequently

called back to the counter with “Oh, Henry!”• Wharf master in Honduras whom others called “Oh

Hennery.”• Captain of prison guard whose name was O. Henry in

the account books.

A Few Interesting Facts…

• O. Henry wrote about 300 short stories, most of them in the last 10 years of his life.

• He had only 23¢ in his pocket when he died.• His funeral was mistakenly scheduled for the

same time as a wedding ceremony.• One of America’s most prestigious literary

prizes, the O. Henry Award, was established in his honor. It honors short stories of exceptional merit.

Bibliography"Author Study: O. Henry." The

Language of Literature. Evanston: McDougall Littell, 2003. 150-153.