Introduction to O Henry, the founder of modern American short stories and one of the three great short story masters in the world.

O Henry (1September 86211-1965438+June 5, 2000), also known as O Henry, was originally named William Sydney Potter, an American short story writer and the founder of modern American short stories.

1862, 1 1 In September, O 'Henry was born in Green Sboro, North Carolina, USA, and worked as a bank clerk and pharmacist. 1In February, 896, O 'Henry was imprisoned on charges of misappropriating public funds and then fled to Honduras. 1898 went to prison again, during which he began to publish his works. From 65438 to 0902, O 'Henry moved to new york and became a professional writer. 19 10 On June 5th, O Henry died of liver cirrhosis in new york, USA. O Henry, Chekhov and Mo Bosang are also called the world's three great short story masters. He was once praised by critics as the Laureate Prose Writer in Manhattan and the father of modern American short stories. His works are known as "Encyclopedia of American Life".

Character experience

1September, 862 1 1 day, O. Henry was born in Green Sboro, North Carolina, USA, formerly known as William Sydney Porter.

1865, when O 'Henry was 3 years old, his mother died of tuberculosis. In the same year, he and his father moved to his grandmother's house, and he and his brother were sent to a private school run by his cousin. He was brought up by his grandmother and aunt, who inspired his love for literature.

From 65438 to 0876, O 'Henry graduated from his aunt's private school. Then I entered high school, but I was forced to drop out of school at 1877 and worked as an apprentice in my uncle's pharmacy for five years. When he was a teenager, O 'Henry liked painting and was very talented. He wanted to be a painter when he was young.

1882 in March, a doctor named James K. Hall in Green Sboro saw that O 'Henry was in poor health and took him to visit a sheep farm in * * * Er County, Texas. O 'Henry fell in love with life there as soon as he went to the western ranch and lived there for two years. He sometimes helps as a shepherd, cook and nanny, and he also learns Spanish and German from some immigrants for some time.

1884, O 'Henry came to Austin, lived in the home of a fellow countryman, and found a job in Austin. O Henry worked as a singer, a dramatic actor, a pharmacist, a draftsman, a reporter and a cashier, and changed the poor living conditions. Life in the west inspired his humorous cells and became an important material for his later short stories. At the age of 2 1, he changed his ambition and decided to become a writer.

1887, O. Henry married assor estes (changed to assor Porter after marriage), and published his works in Detroit Freedom and Reality in the same year.

189 1 year, O 'Henry came to Austin First National Bank as a cashier.

From 65438 to 0894, O 'Henry bought a weekly magazine in Austin for $250 and renamed it Rolling Stone, making it a humorous magazine. He is both an editor and a publisher, writing articles and drawing by himself. In June+10 of the same year, the federal bank inspector found that there was something wrong with O 'Henry's accounts and had to resign.

1in April, 895, after editing Rolling Stone for one year, the magazine was a complete failure, and O 'Henry returned it to its original owner. Then, they moved to Houston, and O'Henry moved to Houston Post as a reporter and columnist.

1In February, 896, O Henry was accused of misappropriating public funds, summoned for trial and temporarily detained. His father-in-law bailed him out of prison. Originally, O 'Henry's case was not serious, but he fled to New Orleans the day before his arraignment (1July 7, 896) and then to Honduras. He stayed in a hotel in Tegucigalpa for several months. The Spanish he learned in his early years helped him a lot, and he began to write the novel Cabbage and the King of Honduras.

1897 In February, O. Henry learned that his wife was dying of tuberculosis and hurried back to Austin. He was arrested immediately after returning to China, but was quickly released on bail by his father-in-law. On July 25th, his wife assor Porter died of tuberculosis.

In February 1898, O 'Henry was found guilty and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. On March 25th, he began to serve his sentence in the federal prison in Columbus, Ohio. While serving his sentence, O 'Henry became a pharmacist in the prison. At the same time, in order to maintain his daughter's life and send her to school, he began to write short stories seriously. In the same year, O Henry changed his name from William Sydney Porter to William Sydney Porter.

/kloc-from 0/899 to 65438+February, he published the short story "Dick the Whistler's Christmas Socks" in the Christmas issue of Macclure magazine under the pseudonym "O Henry". He sent the novel to his friend in New Orleans, and his friend forwarded it to the magazine. Since then, his pen name has attracted the attention of readers.

190 1 year. After serving 3 years and 3 months, O 'Henry was released early because of his good behavior in prison. On July 24th, he was reunited with his daughter in Pittsburgh.

From 65438 to 0902, O 'Henry moved to new york and became a professional writer, creating hundreds of excellent short stories. In new york, due to the publication of a large number of excellent works, he gained fame and fortune, and sometimes he was interviewed by reporters. But he not only squandered money, but also gambled, and caught his father's bad habit of drinking. The fatigue of writing and the unrestrained life have seriously damaged his health.

1904, O. Henry published the only novel in his life, Cabbage and the King, which is a loosely structured political satire and sometimes regarded as a collection of short stories.

1906, O 'Henry published a collection of short stories called Four Million.

From 65438 to 0908, he divorced his second wife, Sarah Lin Desai Coleman. His financial situation also began to be bad. In order to relieve the pressure of life, he had to write novels at a fast speed in exchange for the manuscript fee, which also led to the uneven quality of his works. He often drinks and gambles six days a week. On the seventh day, he spent a day writing a short story and then submitted it to a magazine for publication. In the same year, he published a collection of short stories, The Voice of the City and The Last Leaf.

1909, O. Henry published a collection of short stories, The Road to Destiny.

19 10, O 'Henry wrote The Ransom of the Red-haired Chief. On June 3rd, O Henry fell ill while writing the last short story of his life, Dream. On June 5th, O Henry died of liver cirrhosis. His funeral was held in new york and buried in Ashville, North Carolina.