Book 3 — HUMORISTS.

George Ade.

George Ade has an established reputation among those who are lovers of wholesome humor. His sketches, given in a picturesque dialect, are characterized by a freshness of observation which is aided rather than marred by the so-called slang in which they are written. Born at Kentland, Newton county, Indiana, February 9, 1866, he graduated from the University of Lafayette, Indiana, and subsequently became reporter and telegraph editor on the Lafayette Evening Call. In 1891 he went to Chicago, as a member of the staff of the Daily News of that city, and afterward joined the forces of the Tribune. After establishing a reputation as a humorist, he turned playwright and has scored several metropolitan successes. His Fables in Slang, issued in 1899, and More Fables are the best known of his pen products.

John Kendrick Bangs.

John Kendrick Bangs occupies a distinctive position in the domain of humor. To use the vernacular, he is in a class by himself, and so the products of his pen can hardly be referred to or compared with that of any other of the writers of to-day. He was born in Yonkers, New York, May 27, 1862, his father being Francis N. Bangs, who for many years was the president of the Bar association of New York. Mr. Bangs graduated from Columbia university in 1883 and entered his father’s office, but his humor would not down, and so it was that he shortly deserted the law in order to become the associate editor of Life. This was in 1884. Since that time he has held many responsible journalistic positions in New York, and in his present capacity as editor of Harper’s Weekly has added much to the reputation which is deservedly his.

Samuel Langhorn Clemens.

Samuel L. Clemens, who is better known as “Mark Twain,” was born in Monroe county, Missouri, November 30, 1835, and received his education at the village schools. On his father’s death, which took place when he was twelve years of age, he went to work in order to contribute to the support of his mother and little brothers and sisters. As an apprentice in the office of the Hannibal (Missouri) Courier, he laid the foundations of his reputation as author and journalist. Within the following twenty-five years he was steamboat pilot, soldier, miner and editor. His first contributions under his famous nom-de-plume appeared in 1862, in the newspaper, The Virginia City Enterprise. Since 1872 he has devoted himself to literary work, lecturing occasionally, and making frequent trips to Europe. It is said that nearly a million copies of his works have been sold. Space will not permit of a full list of them, but Roughing It, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Pudden-Head Wilson are classics whose popularity bids fair to last as long as American literature itself.

Finley Peter Dunne.

The author of the immortal “Mr. Dooley” is Finley Peter Dunne, who began life as a Chicago reporter, but is now under contract to Harper Brothers to write exclusively for their publications. He was born at Chicago, July 10, 1867, was educated in local public schools and began his reportorial life in 1885. After serving on the staffs of several Chicago papers he became editor of the Journal of that city in 1897. It was about this time that he conceived “Mr. Dooley.” The reputation which that unique character brought him resulted in his being engaged to contribute to a syndicate of New York, Chicago and San Francisco newspapers, and later to form his current connection with the Harpers.

Simeon Ford.

Simeon Ford, the after-dinner speaker and raconteur who, so it is said, can look more sad and at the same time talk more humorously than any other man before the American public, was born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1856. After an education received in the public schools of the town of his birth he studied law, but finding that there was but little merriment in Blackstone and briefs, abandoned his first intentions, and after plunges into various businesses, drifted to New York, where, in 1883, he fell in love with and married Julia Shaw, the daughter of the proprietor of the Grand Union hotel. He forthwith became a partner with his father-in-law, and from thence on has been as successful as a hotel manager as he is famous as an after-dinner speaker.

Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer.

Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, whose nom-de-plume is “Dorothy Dix,” was born in Montgomery county, Tennessee, November 18, 1870. She was married November 21, 1888, to George O. Gilmer. In 1896 she became the editor of the woman’s department of the New Orleans Picayune, and contributed to that paper a series of articles called Dorothy Dix Talks, which won her immediate recognition as a humorist. In 1900 she joined the New York American and Journal staff as a writer on special topics, which she treats in a breezy, snappy fashion.

George V. Hobart.

George V. Hobart, the humorist and librettist, who is well known to the newspaper public under his nom-de-plume of Dinkelspiel, was born at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. When a boy he studied telegraphy and obtained a position as an operator on one of the Cumberland (Maryland) newspapers. One day between the clicks of his instrument he wrote a humorous story, and handed it to the editor, who remarked, “I want more of that.” That was the beginning of the famous Dinkelspiel sketches. Mr. W. R. Hearst, of the New York American, saw Hobart’s work, called him to New York. He is the author of several comedies and books of musical productions.

Melvin De Lancy Landon.

Melvin De Lancy Landon, “Eli Perkins,” was born at Eaton, New York, September 7, 1839. After a course of preparation in the public schools he entered Union college and graduated in 1861. One week later he received an appointment from the United States treasury, but soon resigned his position to enlist in the Union army to take part in the Civil war. He left the army, in 1864, with the rank of major. Next he became a cotton planter in Arkansas and Louisiana. Later he traveled in Europe and was secretary of the United States legation at St. Petersburg. In 1877 he was married to Emily Louise Smith. He has written copiously for magazines and other publications. But it is his books, Wit, Humor and Pathos, Franco-Prussian War, Wit and Humor of the Age, Kings of Platform and Pulpit, and Thirty Years of Wit, upon which his reputation as a humorist rests.