O henry biography gift magi henry

William Sydney Porter, or more famously known by his pen name O. Henry, was a popular short story writer during the early twentieth century. A writer whose personal life paralleled his fictional works, Porter lived a varied life throughout the South, Honduras, and New York City.

Most important, though, are not the places where Porter traveled but his early childhood in Greensboro, North Carolina. Born on September 11, 1862, to a middle-class family, William was the middle child of three sons.

He was only three years old when his mother and brother passed away from tuberculosis. Surviving family members were William’s mother and brother, and they influenced the future author in a drastic way.

Grandma Porter, a self-trained doctor and local figure in Greensboro, raised the Porter children after William’s mother passed away.

Will’s father and physician, Algernon Porter, cared for his children, but an infatuation with inventing a perpetual motion machi