O.
Henry’s Biography
Overview
Born September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
Died June 5, 1910 in New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name William Sidney Porter
Mini Bio
O. Henry was an American writer whose short stories are known for wit, wordplay and clever twist
endings. He wrote nearly 600 stories about life in America.
He was born William Sidney Porter on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. His father,
Algernon Sidney Porter, was a medical doctor. When William was three his mother died and he was
raised by his grandmother and aunt. He left school at the age of 15 and then had a number of jobs,
including bank clerk. In 1896 he was accused of embezzlement. He absconded from the law to New
Orleans and later fled to Honduras. When he learned that his wife was dying, he returned to US and
surrendered to police. Although there has been much debate over his actual guilt, he was convicted
of embezzling funds from the bank that employed him, he was sentenced to 5 years in jail. In 1898 he
was sent to the penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio.
While in prison he began writing short stories in order to support his young daughter Margaret. His
first published story was "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking" (1899). He used a pseudonym, Olivier
Henry, only once and changed his pen name to O. Henry, not wanting his readers to know he was in
jail. He published 12 stories while in prison. After serving 3 years of the five-year sentence, he was
released for good behavior. He moved to New York City in 1902 and wrote a story a week for the New
York World, and also for other publishers. His first collection of stories was "Cabbages and Kings"
(1904). The next collection, "The Four Million" (1906), included his well-known stories "The Gift of the
Magi", "The Skylight Room" and "The Green Door". One of his last stories, "The Ransom of Red Chief"
(1910), is perhaps the best known of his works. Among its film adaptations are Ruthless People (1986)
with Danny DeVito and Bette Midler, The Ransom of Red Chief(1998), The Ransom of Red Chief (1911)
and Delovye lyudi (1962) (aka "Business People") by director Leonid Gayday, starring Georgiy
Vitsin and Yuriy Nikulin
In his lifetime O. Henry was able to see the silent film adaptations of his stories; The
Sacrifice (1909), Trying to Get Arrested (1909) and His Duty (1909). His success brought the
attendant pressure, and he suffered from alcohol addiction. His second marriage lasted 2 years, and
his wife left him in 1909. He died of cirrhosis of the liver, on June 5, 1910, in New York, New York.
O. Henry is credited for creation of The Cisco Kid, whose character alludes to Robin Hood and Don
Quixote. The Arizona Kid (1930) and The Cisco Kid (1931) are among the best known adaptations of
his works.
