O. Henry

1862 - 1910

● “O. Henry” first used as pen name around 1884; derived from his frequent calling to the cat of the family he was living with at the time: “Oh, Henry!”

● Born William Sidney Porter● Later changed legal spelling

of middle name to Sydney● Born September 11th, 1862 in

Greensboro, North Carolina● Father: Dr. Algernon Sidney

Porter (1825-1888)● Mother: Mary Jane Virginia

Swaim Porter (1833-1865) died of tuberculosis

● Spent childhood in North Carolina; moved with his father to his grandmother’s house after his mother died

● Only formal education from aunt Evelina Maria Porter (Miss Lina)’s elementary school; and Lindsey Street high School, though Miss Lina continued to tutor him

● Quit school at 15 (1879) to work as bookkeeper in his Uncle Clark’s store: W.C. Porter and Company Drug Store

● Remainder of education came from Porter’s love of reading and “school of life”

● Became a licensed pharmacist at the drugstore

● Young adulthood: known around town for drawings and cartoons of the townspeople

● Moved to Texas at age 20, worked on a sheep ranch, and lived with the family of Richard M. Hall

● Work on ranch gave Porter knowledge he later used in several of his short stories

● 1884: moved to Austin, lived with Joseph Harrell and family

● The Harrell Family's cat, Henry, inspired Porter's nickname

*Not an actual picture of Porter calling the cat

OH, HENRY!

● 1887: began work as draftsman in General Land Office – headed by Richard Hall

● Also 1887: married Athol Estes, daughter Margaret Worth Porter born in 1889; wife died later, in 1897

● 1891: began work as a teller with First National Bank in Austin

● between 1891 - 1895: founded the Rolling Stone (no connection with today’s well-known magazine); humorous weekly, unsuccessful at the time

● 1895: columnist for the Houston Daily Post

● 1896: Porter accused of/indicted for embezzlement of $4000 (about $135,000 today) from bank position

● left his wife and daughter; fled to New Orleans and Honduras

● returned upon learning that his wife was sick; she died shortly after his return

● 1898: Porter found guilty of embezzlement from bank – though it’s uncertain if he actually did it; sentenced to five years in Ohio prison; released early, 1901-1902

● Several short stories written in prison; came out of prison going by “O. Henry” to hide his true past

● 1902: moved to New York City● Wrote stories weekly for the New York World magazine, as

well as several stories for other magazines

New York World Magazine cover

● 1907: remarried to his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Lindsey Coleman

● 1908: separated from Sarah

● 1910: O. Henry died poor and an alcoholic; cause of death is listed as cirrhosis of the liver

● Funeral in New York; buried in Ashville, North Carolina

● His last words are said to have been: "Turn up the lights —I don't want to go home in the dark."

More about his stories...● Over 300 stories published in

ten years! Several were still published after his death

● Most famous: “The Gift of the Magi” – poor couple secretly sell possessions to buy a gift for one another at Christmastime; wife sells hair to buy husband watch chain, while husband sells watch to buy nice pair of combs - IRONY

Writing Characteristics, Style, etc.

● Realistic detail from real-life experiences● Lower- and middle-class workers● Dry humor, wit, play on words● Heavy irony; coincidences, twist/unpredictable endings

● O. Henry Awards established by Doubleday and Society of Arts and Sciences – annual collection of short stories in his honor

● The hall where O. Henry was convicted is now part of the administrative headquarters of the University of Texas – rightly named O. Henry Hall

● O. Henry Hotel, with early 1900's setting, Greensboro, NC

Quotes! "Write what you like; there is no other rule."

"Inject a few raisins of

conversation into the

tasteless dough of

life."

"When one loves one's

Art no service seems too

hard."

References

● http://www.lsjunction.com/people/porter.htm● http://www.austintexas.gov/department/o-henry-museum● http://www.biography.com/people/william-sydney-porter-9542046● http://www.literaturecollection.com/a/o_henry/● http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377958/bio#trivia● http://classiclit.about.com/cs/profileswriters/p/aa_ohenry.htm● http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0998/ohenry/about.html● http://online.wsj.

com/article/SB10001424052748704852004575258824174766374.html● http://www.ohenryhotel.com/about.htm● http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139320/m1/1/● http://www.moneychimp.com/articles/econ/inflation_calculator.htm● http://www.glo.texas.gov/