William Dean Howells photograph

This is a portrait of journalist and author William Dean Howells, ca. 1900. Howells was born on March 1, 1837, in Martinsville (now Martins Ferry), Ohio, but later moved with his family to Hamilton, Dayton, Xenia, Columbus, Ashtabula and finally Jefferson. By his early 20s, Howells had become a newspaper reporter; he also began to write poetry and published his first collection in 1859. The Atlantic Monthly also began to publish his literary work, and Howells' reputation grew quickly. In 1860, the Republican Party selected him to write a biography of their presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln won the election of 1860 and rewarded Howells by appointing him the United States Consul to Venice. Howells remained in this position until 1865, when he returned to the United States and became an editor with The Atlantic Monthly, and later with Harper's and Cosmopolitan. Howells became a well-known novelist during the late 19th century, publishing his first novel, "Their Wedding Journey," in 1872. He authored 35 novels over the next fifty years, as well as numerous short stories, plays, and poems. Howells was the first president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died on May 11, 1920