O. Henry

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O. Henry

Author profile


born
in Greensboro, North Carolina, The United States
September 11, 1862

died
June 05, 1910

gender
male

genre


About this author

William Sydney Porter lends the pen name "O. Henry" to surprise endings signed officially as Sydney Porter. His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. Their voices and his language were products of his era.

He was born 1862 Greensboro, North Carolina. When he was three years old, his mother died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen, worked five years in uncle's drugstore, then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch.

In 1884 he went to Austin where he worked in a real estate office, a church choir, and spent four years as a draftsman in the General Land Office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him.

After he failed to establish a small humorous weekly, he worked in poorly-run bank. When...more


Average rating: 4.07 · 49,368 ratings · 1,456 reviews · 197 distinct works · Similar authors
The Gift of the Magi
by
4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 30,768 ratings — published 1905 — 72 editions
Selected Stories
by
4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 7,533 ratings — published 1977 — 29 editions
The Best Short Stories of O...
by
4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 2,139 ratings — published 1904 — 34 editions
The Ransom of Red Chief
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 1,773 ratings — published 1910 — 18 editions
The Gift of the Magi and Ot...
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 1,689 ratings — published 1906 — 17 editions
The Last Leaf
by
4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 avg rating — 854 ratings — published 1979 — 8 editions
The Complete Works of O. Henry
by
4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 avg rating — 569 ratings — published 1899 — 25 editions
41 Stories
by
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 301 ratings — published 1984 — 11 editions
Cabbages and Kings
4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 298 ratings — published 2012 — 54 editions
The Four Million
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 223 ratings — published 1906 — 41 editions
More books by O. Henry…
“No friendship is an accident. ”
O. Henry, Heart of the West

“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi

“We can't buy one minute of time with cash; if we could, rich people would live longer.”
O. Henry, Selected Stories

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