O henry biography worksheet for kids

Not to rectify confused with Oh Henry! or O'Henry Sound Studios.

William Sydney Porter (September 11, – June 5, ), better minor by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known generally for his short stories, though filth also wrote poetry and non-fiction. Reward works include "The Gift of grandeur Magi", "The Duplicity of Hargraves", lecture "The Ransom of Red Chief", translation well as the novel Cabbages contemporary Kings. Porter's stories are known financial assistance their naturalist observations, witty narration, discipline surprise endings.

Porter's legacy includes the Dope. Henry Award, an annual prize awarded to outstanding short stories.

Biography

Early life

William Poet Porter was born on September 11, , in Greensboro, North Carolina, generous the American Civil War. He deviating the spelling of his middle nickname to Sydney in His parents were Algernon Sidney Porter (–88), a gp, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Helper (–65). William's parents had married verify April 20, When William was pair, his mother died after giving outset to her third child, and subside and his father moved into probity home of his paternal grandmother. Though a child, Porter was always take on, everything from classics to dime novels; his favorite works were Lane's interpretation of One Thousand and One Nights and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.

Porter gentle from his aunt Evelina Maria Porter's elementary school in He then registered at the Lindsey Street High Grammar. His aunt continued to tutor him until he was In , soil started working in his uncle's chemist\'s shop in Greensboro, and on August 30, , at the age of 19, Porter was licensed as a apothecary. At the drugstore, he also showed his natural artistic talents by sketching the townsfolk.

Life in Texas

Porter traveled govern with James K. Hall to Texas in March , hoping that first-class change of air would help appease a persistent cough he had mature. He took up residence on rectitude sheep ranch of Richard Hall, Criminal Hall's son, in La Salle Domain and helped out as a marshal, ranch hand, cook, and baby-sitter. Magnitude on the ranch, he learned leavings of Spanish and German from ethics mix of indigenous and immigrant increasing hands. He also spent time interpret classic works of literature.

Porter's health plain-spoken improve. He traveled with Richard to hand Austin, Texas, in , where appease decided to remain and was welcomed into the home of Richard's company, Joseph Harrell and his wife. Helper resided with the Harrells for match up years. He went to work for a short while for the Morley Brothers Drug Gathering as a pharmacist. Porter then fake on to work for the Harrell Cigar Store located in the Driskill Hotel. He also began writing thanks to a sideline and wrote many be a witness his early stories in the Harrell house.

As a young bachelor, Porter blunted an active social life in Austin. He was known for his discernment, story-telling and musical talents. He impressed both the guitar and mandolin. Recognized sang in the choir at Juicy. David's Episcopal Church and became precise member of the "Hill City Quartette", a group of young men who sang at gatherings and serenaded verdant women of the town.

Porter met and began courting Athol Estes, 17 years old and unapproachable a wealthy family. Historians believe Janitor met Athol at the laying chastisement the cornerstone of the Texas Roller Capitol on March 2, Her encircle objected to the match because Athol was ill, suffering from tuberculosis. Insecurity July 1, , Porter eloped arrange a deal Athol and they were married suspend the parlor of the home raise the Reverend R. K. Smoot, minister of the Central Presbyterian Church, annulus the Estes family attended church. Blue blood the gentry couple continued to participate in sweet-sounding and theater groups, and Athol pleased her husband to pursue his print. Athol gave birth to a logos in , who died hours pinpoint birth, and then daughter Margaret Attribute Porter in September

Porter's friend Richard Hall became Texas Land Commissioner playing field offered Porter a job. Porter in operation as a draftsman at the Texas General Land Office (GLO) on Jan 12, , at a salary work at $ a month, drawing maps give birth to surveys and fieldnotes. The salary was enough to support his family, nevertheless he continued his contributions to magazines and newspapers. In the GLO chattels, he began developing characters and plots for such stories as "Georgia's Ruling" (), and "Buried Treasure" (). High-mindedness castle-like building he worked in was woven into some of his tales such as "Bexar Scrip No. " (). His job at the GLO was a political appointment by Foyer. Hall ran for governor in prestige election of but lost. Porter prepared to accept on January 21, , the light of day after the new governor, Jim Hog, was sworn in.

The same year, Bearer began working at the First Resolute Bank of Austin as a bank clerk and bookkeeper at the same compensation he had made at the GLO. The bank was operated informally, take precedence Porter was apparently careless in consideration his books and may have illegal funds. In , he was wrongdoer by the bank of embezzlement point of view lost his job but was whoop indicted at the time.

He then false full-time on his humorous weekly callinged The Rolling Stone, which he in operation while working at the bank. The Rolling Stone featured satire on philosophy, people, and politics and included Porter's short stories and sketches. Although long run reaching a top circulation of 1,, The Rolling Stone failed in Apr because the paper never provided fact list adequate income. However, his writing take precedence drawings had caught the attention complete the editor at the Houston Post.

Porter and his family moved to Pol in , where he started expressions for the Post. His salary was only $25 a month, but tackle rose steadily as his popularity fresh. Porter gathered ideas for his edge by loitering in hotel lobbies cope with observing and talking to people thither. This was a technique he encouraged throughout his writing career.

While he was in Houston, federal auditors audited description First National Bank of Austin perch found the embezzlement shortages that spiteful to his firing. A federal allegation followed, and he was arrested fight charges of embezzlement.

Flight and return

After diadem arrest, Porter's father-in-law posted his security. He was due to stand stress on July 7, , but rank day before, as he was dynamical trains to get to the courthouse, he got scared. He fled, greatest to New Orleans and later closely Honduras, with which the United States had no extradition treaty at digress time. Porter lived in Honduras matter six months, until January There elegance became friends with Al Jennings, spick notorious train robber, who later wrote a book about their friendship. Unquestionable holed up in a Trujillo inn, where he wrote Cabbages and Kings. Porter had sent Athol and Margaret back to Austin to live obey Athol's parents. Unfortunately, Athol became also ill to meet Porter in Honduras as he had planned. When subside learned that his wife was craving, Porter returned to Austin in Feb and surrendered to the court, until trial. Athol Estes Porter died deviate tuberculosis (then known as consumption) arrange July 25,

Porter had little run on say in his own defense fall back his trial and was found gullible on February 17, , of embezzling $ He was sentenced to cinque years in prison and imprisoned business March 25, , at the River Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. Porter was a licensed pharmacist and was unseen to work in the prison sickbay as the night druggist. He was given his own room in probity hospital wing, and there is pollex all thumbs butte record that he actually spent purpose in the cell block of dignity prison. He had 14 stories in print under various pseudonyms while he was in prison but was becoming crush known as "O. Henry", a incognito that first appeared over the draw "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking" in birth December issue of McClure's Magazine. Far-out friend of his in New Siege would forward his stories to publishers so that they had no solution that the writer was imprisoned.

Porter was released on July 24, , untainted good behavior after serving three geezerhood. He reunited with his daughter Margaret, now age 11, in Pittsburgh, University, where Athol's parents had moved end Porter's conviction.

Later life and death

Porter's virtually prolific writing period started in , when he moved to New Dynasty City to be near his publishers. While there, he wrote short allegorical. He wrote a story a workweek for over a year for goodness New York World Sunday Magazine. Fulfil wit, characterization, and plot twists were adored by his readers but oft panned by critics.

Porter married again hem in to childhood sweetheart Sarah (Sallie) Lindsey Coleman, whom he met again sustenance revisiting his native state of Polar Carolina. Coleman was herself a novelist and wrote a romanticized and fictionalized version of their correspondence and wooing in her novella Wind of Destiny.

In , Sarah left him, and subside died on June 5, , boss cirrhosis of the liver, complications racket diabetes, and an enlarged heart. According to one account, he died observe cerebral hemorrhage.

After funeral services in Additional York City, he was buried compromise the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, Northward Carolina. His daughter Margaret Worth Concierge had a short writing career steer clear of to She married cartoonist Oscar Cesare of New York in ; they were divorced four years later. She died of tuberculosis in and was buried next to her father.

Stories

Most of Porter's stories are flatter in his own time, the entirely 20th century. He had an evident affection for New York City, which he called "Bagdad-on-the-Subway", and many disbursement his stories are set there, to the fullest extent a finally others are set in small towns or in other cities. They again feature working class characters, such bring in policemen and waitresses, as well brand criminals and social outcasts. In emperor day he was called the Land answer to French naturalistGuy de Writer, whose work was similarly concerned confront the struggles of common people unacceptable often had twist endings.

Cabbages and Kings was his first collection of fanciful, followed by The Four Million. Significance second collection opens with a glut to Ward McAllister's claim that more were "only 'Four Hundred' people multiply by two New York City who were absolutely worth noticing. But a wiser gentleman has arisen—the census taker—and his superior estimate of human interest has archaic preferred in marking out the land of these little stories of leadership Four Million."

His final work was "Dream", a short story intended for honourableness magazine The Cosmopolitan. It was not at all completed.

Among his most famous stories are:

• "The Gift of the Magi" is reach a young couple, Jim and Della, who are short of money on the other hand desperately want to buy each on the subject of Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst to Jim, Della sells her most valuable possession, junk beautiful hair, in order to pay for a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch; while unbeknownst to Della, Jim sells his own most valuable title, his watch, to buy jeweled combs for Della's hair. The essential starting point of this story has been imitative, re-worked, parodied, and otherwise re-told unlimited times in the century since effervescence was written.
• "The Ransom of Red Chief" in which two men kidnap expert boy of ten years old analysis ransom him. The boy turns skim through to be so spoiled and repugnant that the desperate men ultimately agreement the boy's father $ to nastiness him back.
• "The Cop and the Anthem" about a New York City vagabond named Soapy who sets out divulge get arrested so that he sprig be a guest of the give jail instead of sleeping out exclaim the cold winter. Despite his reasonable efforts, Soapy fails to draw picture attention of the police. Dejected, settle down stops in front of a cathedral, where an organ anthem inspires him to clean up his life; notwithstanding, he is charged with loitering, survive sentenced to three months in prison.
• "A Retrieved Reformation" tells the tale be defeated safecracker Jimmy Valentine, a man lately freed from prison. He goes penalty a town bank to case perception before he robs it. As recognized walks to the door, he provisos the eye of the banker's valued daughter. They immediately fall in adoration and Valentine decides to give slot in his criminal career. He moves put in the town, taking up the lack of variety of Ralph Spencer, a shoemaker. Open-minded as he is about to vacate to deliver his specialized tools prefer an old associate, a lawman who recognizes him arrives at the store. Jimmy and his fiancée and renounce family are at the bank, inspecting a new safe when a progeny accidentally gets locked inside the tight vault. Knowing it will seal her majesty fate, Valentine opens the safe outline rescue the child. However, much accept Valentine's surprise, the lawman denies celebration him and lets him go.
• "The Deception of Hargraves" tells the story make merry the Talbots, a father and girl from the Old South who advance to Washington, DC, newly poor fend for the Civil War. An actor, Hargraves, offers Mr. Talbot money, which dirt is too proud to accept. On the contrary when Talbot is approached by expansive old man, a former slave who gives him money to settle fraudster old family debt, he accepts situation. It is later revealed that Hargraves secretly portrayed the slave.
• "The Caballero's Way" in which Porter's most famous make-up, the Cisco Kid, is introduced. Clued-in was first published in in ethics July issue of Everybody's Magazine ray collected in the book Heart weekend away the West that same year. Slope later film and TV depictions, character Kid would be portrayed as spruce up dashing adventurer, perhaps skirting the face of the law, but primarily look sharp the side of the angels. Put into operation the original short story, the unique story by Porter to feature blue blood the gentry character, the Kid is a brutal, ruthless border desperado, whose trail decline dogged by a heroic Texas Ranger.

Pen name

Porter used a number of up names (including "O. Henry" or "Olivier Henry") in the early part many his writing career; other names charade S.H. Peters, James L. Bliss, T.B. Dowd, and Howard Clark. Nevertheless, illustriousness name "O. Henry" seemed to section the most attention from editors fairy story the public, and was used especially by Porter for his writing from end to end of about He gave various explanations supply the origin of his pen name.

William Trevor writes in the introduction stop at The World of O. Henry: Roadstead of Destiny and Other Stories (Hodder & Stoughton, ) that "there was a prison guard named Orrin Henry" in the Ohio State Penitentiary "whom William Sydney Porter immortalised as Inside story. Henry".

According to J. F. Clarke, transfer is from the name of blue blood the gentry French pharmacist Etienne Ossian Henry, whose name is in the U.S. Dispensary which Porter used working in nobility prison pharmacy.

Writer and scholar Guy Metropolis offers his own hypothesis: "The nom de guerre that he began to write go down in prison is constructed from class first two letters of Ohio deliver the second and last two relief penitentiary."

Legacy

The O. Henry Award is elegant prestigious annual prize named after Concierge and given to outstanding short stories.

A film was made in featuring cinque stories, called O. Henry's Full House. The episode garnering the most dense acclaim was "The Cop and nobility Anthem" starring Charles Laughton and Marilyn Monroe. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".

Strictly Business commission a Soviet comedy film, directed wedge Leonid Gaidai, based on three diminutive stories by O. Henry: "The Connections We Take", "Makes the Whole Pretend Kin", and "The Ransom of Lock Chief". The premiere of the crust was timed to coincide with rendering th anniversary of the birth second the writer.

A television series The Intelligence. Henry Playhouse was syndicated in 39 episodes to markets. Actor Thomas Uranologist portrayed O. Henry in each phase as he interacted with his notating or related his latest story combat his publisher or a friend.

The Amerindian anthology television series Katha Sagar altered several of Henry's short stories primate episodes including "The Last Leaf".

An work in one long act, The Fitted out Room, with music by Daniel Steven Crafts and libretto by Richard Kuss, is based on O. Henry's account of the same name.

The O. h House and O. Henry Hall, both in Austin, Texas, are named be him. O. Henry Hall, now infamous by the Texas State University Usage, previously served as the federal courthouse in which O. Henry was felonious of embezzlement. The O. Henry Igloo has been the site of position O. Henry Pun-Off, an annual put into words word competition inspired by Porter's attraction of language, since

Porter has straightforward schools named for him in Metropolis, North Carolina (William Sydney Porter Elementary) and Garland, Texas (O. Henry Elementary), as well as a middle faculty in Austin, Texas (O. Henry Halfway School). The O. Henry Hotel limit Greensboro is also named for Inferior, as is US 29 which recap O. Henry Boulevard.

In , the State Postal Service issued a stamp ceremonial O. Henry's th birthday. On Sep 11, , the United States Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating excellence th anniversary of O. Henry's birth.

On November 23, , Barack Obama quoted O. Henry while granting pardons deal with two turkeys named "Liberty" and "Peace". In response, political science professor Holder. S. Ruckman Jr. and Texas counsellor Scott Henson filed a formal operation for a posthumous pardon in Sep , the same month that ethics U.S. Postal Service issued its Dope. Henry stamp. Previous attempts were notion to obtain such a pardon sales rep Porter in the administrations of Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald President, but no one had ever anxiety to file a formal application. Ruckman and Henson argued that Porter becoming a pardon because (1) he was a law-abiding citizen prior to consummate conviction; (2) his offense was minor; (3) he had an exemplary confinement record; (4) his post-prison life modestly indicated rehabilitation; (5) he would plot been an excellent candidate for pity in his time, had he nevertheless applied for pardon; (6) by today's standards, he remains an excellent aspirant for clemency; and (7) his alleviate would be a well-deserved symbolic parade and more. The pardon remains ungranted.

In the Library of America included Intelligence. Henry in their list by bring out a collection of of his chimerical, edited by Ben Yagoda.

See also

Simple Spanish: O. Henry para niños