O. Henry - (1862-1910)
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Read other essays on O. Henry written by New York
students Daniel Golden and
Ally Feldman and Veronika Fernandez, or North Carolina student
Bobby Helbert. I. Biography
William Sydney Porter (known as O.Henry) was born on September 11, 1862, in Polecat Creek, North Carolina. When he was three his mother died,
so he, his father and his brother moved in with their aunt near Greensboro. His aunt ran a private school that he attended until he was fifteen. After leaving school, he worked at his
uncle's drugstore until he was nineteen. When he was nineteen, he was offered the opportunity to go out to Texas, with a family friend, who was going to visit his sons. After living in La Salle County, he moved to Austin, where he lived with the James Harrel family. This is the location were he is said to have gotten his pseudonym, by often saying to the family cat "Oh, Henry."
After spending three years with the Harrel family, he married a young lady named Athol Estes. He then got a job at First National Bank, where he was a teller. He worked there from 1891-1896, when the bank was
examined and some irregularities were found. He was blamed, he fled from Austin to New Orleans and then onto Honduras. In January of 1897, Porter returned after hearing that his wife was very ill. On July 25th
1897, Athol died. In February of 1898, William Sydney Porter was declared guilty and sentenced to five years in an Ohio State penitentiary. Porter only spent three years inside where he wrote twelve short stories, including
The Miracle of Lava Canyon. After getting out of prison he moved to New York City. In New York City, he wrote over three hundred short stories while working for the New York Sunday World
. In this paper, he would publish parts of a short story every week. On September 27th 1907, he married Sara Lindsay; who was a childhood sweetheart. On June 5th 1910, William Sydney Porter died.
II. O. Henry's Stories O.Henry's stories were all short stories. His stories are famous for the surprise ending, when a character will do the unexpected thing. Most of the stories come from experiences
in his life, which range from Honduras to prison. Most of the stories are set in places in which O. Henry is personally familiar. O. Henry takes a sudden swerve; that is the reason his stories are so popular.
III. Literary Works The Four Million, 1906 IV. Greensboro
The city of Greensboro, North Carolina is located in the northern foothills of North Carolina. The city has a population of about 213,003; Greensboro covers about 113 square
miles of North Carolina. The city has a few prominent colleges, such as, UNC-G, Guilford College and North Carolina University of Agriculture and Technology. The small city of Greensboro is rich in history.
The Depot is a beautiful old train station built in 1927. It has not been used for many years and is a historical landmark. This station has gotten praises from all around the country because of its stunning architecture.
Another Historically famous site is Guilford courthouse Military Park. This is the site of the battle that could of changed are countries history. Even though General Grant and his army
lost here, they managed to kill a quarter of Cornwallis' army, who later fought in the battle of Yorktown. One more place worth mentioning is the W.C. Porter drugstore. At this drugstore, Lunsford
Richardson developed the drug, "Vapo-Rub." Also in earlier years, the famous short story writer William Sydney Porter worked at the drugstore. V. O. Henry on the Web
In La Salle County, Texas, he lived on a ranch with Dr. James Hall's son for two years. It is thought that many of his story ideas originated from living on the ranch.
The Trimmed Lamp, 1907
Heart of the West, 1907
The Voice of the City, 1908
The Gentle Grafter, 1908
Roads of Destiny, 1909
Options, 1909
Strictly Business, 1910
Whirligigs, 1910
Sixes and Sevens, 1911
Rolling Stones, 1912
Waifs and Strays, 1917
The Complete Works of O. Henry, 1937
O. Henry's New York, 1940
Four Million & Other Stories, 1976
Collected Stories of O. Henry, 1986
The Best Short Stories of O. Henry, 1994
This essay was submitted by students of Leslie Andres, a teacher at Lake Norman Charter School in Huntersville, North Carolina.