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Last edited by Drini
October 25, 2023 | History
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James Thurber

The author of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the creator of numerous New Yorker magazine cover cartoons, was born in Columbus, Ohio on December, 8, 1894. One of the foremost American humorists of the 20th century, his inimitable wit and pithy prose spanned a breadth of genres, including short stories, modern commentary, fiction, children's fantasy and letters.

Thurber's father, Charles, was a civil clerk, and his mother, Mame, was an eccentric woman who would influence many of her son's stories. Thurber had two brothers, William and Robert. One day while playing "William Tell" with them as youngsters, Thurber lost the sight in one eye when an arrow pierced it. Ultimately, he would go blind in both eyes, but that never stopped him from writing or drawing.

Thurber CarnivalFrom 1913-1917, Thurber attended the Ohio State University where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. It was at this time that the Thurbers rented the house at 77 Jefferson Avenue, which became Thurber House in 1984. Due to his eye injury, Thurber was not able to complete a compulsory ROTC course so OSU would not let him graduate, although they did give him an honorary degree later.

Thurber launched his professional writing career as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch in 1920. He began writing for the New Yorker in 1927 after friend E.B. White (Charlotte's Web) got him a job at the magazine. Thurber started as an editor for the magazine but quickly became a writer. His career as a cartoonist began in 1930, when White dug some of Thurber's drawings out of the trash and submitted them to be published in the New Yorker.

Thurber wrote nearly forty books and won a Tony Award for his popular Broadway play, A Thurber Carnival, in which he often starred as himself.

Thurber died of complications from pneumonia on November 2, 1961.

--Thurberhouse.org

Photo of James Thurber

American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright (1894–1961)

Born 8 December 1894
Died 2 November 1961

176 works Add another?

  • Cover of: Fables for our time and famous poems illustrated, and The lastflower.

    First published in 1951 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Fables For Our Time/Further Fables For Our Time

    First published in 1983 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Fünfundsiebzig Fabeln für Zeitgenossen. Den unverbesserlichen Sündern gewidmet.
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    First published in 1991 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Furthest fables for our time.

    First published in 1956 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Grizzly and the Gadgets and Further Fables for Our Times (Swc 1412)

    First published in 1972 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: James Thurber: 92 Stories
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    First published in 1994 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Lanters & lances.

    First published in 1961 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Let Your Mind Alone (Universal Library)

    First published in 1977 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Middle Aged Man on the Fly

    1 edition
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  • Cover of: My life and hard times and other observations

    First published in 1980 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: My life and hard times, & The owl in the attic.

    First published in 1950 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: and Welcome to It

    First published in 1998 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: The night the ghost got in
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    First published in 1983 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Saibo duan pian xiao shuo xuan = Four short stories

    First published in 1967 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: The seal in the bedroom: and other predicaments.

    First published in 1950 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Creative Short Stories)

    First published in 2008 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Secret lives of Walter Mitty and of James Thurber
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    First published in 2006 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Selected Letters (Oxford Letters & Memoirs)

    First published in 1990 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: The thirteen clocks and the Wonderful O

    First published in 1962 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: A Thurber garland

    First published in 1955 — 1 edition
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Photo of James Thurber

American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright (1894–1961)

Born 8 December 1894
Died 2 November 1961

Subjects

Fiction, American wit and humor, Juvenile fiction, Children's fiction, Pictorial American wit and humor, American literature, Literature, American Humorous stories, Drama, Fiction, general, American fiction (fictional works by one author), Humor, Humorous stories, Readers (Secondary), Classic Literature, Fairy tales, Juvenile literature, Reading Level-Grade 11, Reading Level-Grade 12, Social life and customs, Study and teaching (Secondary), short story, Biography, English literature, Families

Places

United States, Massachusetts, Alabama, Baker Street, London, Owl Creek Bridge, Amazon rainforest, Caribbean, Italy, New England, Ship-Trap Island, Tibet, Verona, Andover, Barbados, China, Eastern Europe, England, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Salem, Salem (Mass.), Salem Village, Soviet Union, Florida, Fountain of Youth

People

Devil, James Thurber (1894-1961), Archie, Duncan Ross, Jabez Wilson, John Clay, John H. Watson, Mr. Merryweather, Peyton Farquhar, Police Inspector Jones, Sherlock Holmes, Vincent Spaulding, Abram, Balthasar, Benvolio, Escalus, Friar John, Friar Lawrence, General Zaroff, Goodman Brown, Gregory, Ivan, Juliet Capulet, Lady Capulet, Lady Montague

Time

20th century, 1890, 1861-65, 1600s, 1692, 1861-1865, 19th century, American Civil War, Antebellum era, Civil War, 1861-1865, Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775, 20th Century, Civil War, Colonial period, December, Siglo XX, ca. 1600-1775, carnival, early 20th century

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Alternative names

  • James THURBER
  • Thurber, James, 1894-1961
  • Thurber, James and White, E. B.
  • James Thurber & E B White
  • James and E. B. White Thurber

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
October 25, 2023 Edited by Drini merge authors
August 12, 2022 Edited by Gustav-Landauer-Bibliothek Witten dates of birth and death, links
December 14, 2021 Edited by tmanarl merge authors
February 5, 2021 Edited by Gustav-Landauer-Bibliothek Witten links
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import