1. O. Henry
Pen Name of William Sydney Porter
Born September 11, 1862
Died June 5, 1910
2. “Life is made up of
sobs, sniffles, and
smiles, with sniffles
predominating.”
O. Henry
3. 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
4. 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.
5. 1882-1887
• 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.
6. 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.)
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
