O. Henry was an American writer best known for his short stories involving ordinary characters who encounter surprise twists.
Born William Sidney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862, the writer used several pen names until he settled on O. Henry in 1902, since the name seemed most popular with editors and readers. O. Henry's prolific output resulted in seventeen story collections, as well as dozens more uncollected stories, poems, and nonfiction works.
Since O. Henry's death in 1910, his stories have been adapted into films, several buildings bear his name, and both the Soviet Postal Service and the United States Postal Service released commemorative stamps to mark O. Henry's...