Born: August 26, 1884 Died: April 5, 1933 Ohio connection: Birth Warren Earl Derr Biggers was born and raised in Warren, Ohio, the son of Robert J. Biggers and Emma Derr Biggers. He received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1907. He was a columnist and drama critic for the Traveler newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1908 until …
Read More Earl Derr BiggersBorn: June 24, 1842Died: 1914, Chihuahua, Mexico Ohio connection: Birth Horse Cave Creek, Meigs County Ambrose Gwinett Bierce, known in his time as the “wickedest man in San Francisco” for his acid wit and punishing observations was born in a log cabin on Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio, on June 24, 1842. The …
Read More Ambrose Gwinett BierceBorn: July 20, 1924Died: July 13, 2014 Ohio connection: Birth Cincinnati Thomas Louis Berger was born on July 20, 1924, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The son of Thomas Charles Berger and Mildred (née Bubbe) Berger received a B.A. degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1948. He then pursued graduate study at Columbia University, but left to …
Read More Thomas BergerBorn: July 10, 1905Died: May 28, 2008 Ohio connection: Resident Toledo Journalist and author Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson was born July 10, 1905, in Ladora, Iowa, where, even as a child, she knew she would be a writer. Benson authored more than 130 books and, although she published under several pseudonyms, she is best known as Carolyn Keene, the …
Read More Mildred Wirt BensonBorn: 1967 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Brian Michael Bendis is an award-winning artist and writer of comics/graphic novels. A prolific writer, Bendis was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in a Jewish-American family. Bendis always aspired to make comic books, reportedly declaring at age five that he would be the artist for Spider-Man. Later, he attended classes …
Read More Brian Michael BendisBorn: February 18, 1931Died: August 5, 2019 Ohio connection: Birth Lorain Toni Morrison, hailed as a “literary artist of the first rank” by the Swedish Academy when she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in the small, industrial town of Lorain, Ohio, on February 18, 1931. Raised by …
Read More Toni MorrisonBorn: June 23, 1900Died: October 25, 1993 Ohio connection: Birth Granville Minnie Hite Moody’s work encompasses that of author, editor, newspaper columnist, and radio broadcaster. Moody published five novels and wrote numerous poems, short stories, and articles that appeared in major periodicals. She loved sharing her view of Licking County heritage in her writing. Her …
Read More Minnie Hite MoodyBorn: 1955 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Richard Montanari was born in Cleveland, Ohio, into an Italian-American family. He attended Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Art. He lived for a time in England selling encyclopedias and clothing. He eventually returned to the States, where begun his writing career. Richard has written many mystery novels, the first …
Read More Richard MontanariBorn: December 29, 1941Died: August 5, 2014 Ohio connection: Birth Cincinnati Born on December 29, 1941, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Joe David Bellamy was the son of Orin Ross and Beulah Pearl (Zutavern) Bellamy. He attended Duke University (1959-1961), received a BA in Literature from Antioch College in 1964, and received an MFA in English and Creative Writing from the University …
Read More Joe David BellamyBorn: June 21, 1850Died: June 11, 1941 Ohio connection: Birth Cincinnati Daniel Carter Beard, author, illustrator, and a founder of the Boy Scouts of America, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1850. Beard, the son of celebrated portrait artist James Henry Beard and Mary Caroline (Carter) Beard, developed an intense love of nature in his youth. He …
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