Writer. Born in Martinsville, (Martins Ferry*) Ohio, he was author and literary critic, dubbed "The Dean of American Letters." He spent his boyhood in Hamilton, Ohio from 1840 to 1848 and wrote about it in "A Boy's Town." His father edited the Hamilton Intelligencer, a Whig newspaper. He liked to break on new pens by writing, "W.D. Howells, Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio." William began his career as a typesetter for his father and in 1852, he was elected as a clerk in the Ohio State House of Representatives. By the mid-1850s, he was editor of the Ohio State Journal, published poems, stories and wrote reviews for magazines. As editor of the Atlantic Monthly in the late 1880s, he became a proponent writer of realistic and romantic fiction. His works were also published in magazines such as Harper's New Monthly and The North American Review. He also wrote over a hundred books in various genres, including novels, poems, literary criticism, plays, memoirs, and travel narratives. Some of his best-known books included "A Modern Instance" (1881), "The Rise of Silas Lapham" (1885), "A Hazard of New Fortunes" (1890), "The Landlord at Lion's Head" (1897), and "The Son of Royal Langbrith" (1904). In 1908, he was elected the first president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which instituted its Howells Medal for Fiction in 1915. He died from pneumonia at age 83 in Manhattan, New York.
Through the years, the town has been known as Hoglinstown, Mercertown, Norristown (1785), Jefferson (1795), Martinsville (1835), and Martin's Ferry (1865).
Through the years, the town has been known as Hoglinstown, Mercertown, Norristown (1785), Jefferson (1795), Martinsville (1835), and Martin's Ferry (1865).
Writer. Born in Martinsville, (Martins Ferry*) Ohio, he was author and literary critic, dubbed "The Dean of American Letters." He spent his boyhood in Hamilton, Ohio from 1840 to 1848 and wrote about it in "A Boy's Town." His father edited the Hamilton Intelligencer, a Whig newspaper. He liked to break on new pens by writing, "W.D. Howells, Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio." William began his career as a typesetter for his father and in 1852, he was elected as a clerk in the Ohio State House of Representatives. By the mid-1850s, he was editor of the Ohio State Journal, published poems, stories and wrote reviews for magazines. As editor of the Atlantic Monthly in the late 1880s, he became a proponent writer of realistic and romantic fiction. His works were also published in magazines such as Harper's New Monthly and The North American Review. He also wrote over a hundred books in various genres, including novels, poems, literary criticism, plays, memoirs, and travel narratives. Some of his best-known books included "A Modern Instance" (1881), "The Rise of Silas Lapham" (1885), "A Hazard of New Fortunes" (1890), "The Landlord at Lion's Head" (1897), and "The Son of Royal Langbrith" (1904). In 1908, he was elected the first president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which instituted its Howells Medal for Fiction in 1915. He died from pneumonia at age 83 in Manhattan, New York.
Through the years, the town has been known as Hoglinstown, Mercertown, Norristown (1785), Jefferson (1795), Martinsville (1835), and Martin's Ferry (1865).
Through the years, the town has been known as Hoglinstown, Mercertown, Norristown (1785), Jefferson (1795), Martinsville (1835), and Martin's Ferry (1865).
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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