James Thurber

James Thurber was born on December 8, 1894 in Columbus, Ohio. Thurber lived with his father, who was a clerk, his mother, who was a strong minded woman, and his two brothers. As a child, Thurber was blinded in one of his while playing “William Tell” with his brothers. Thurber soon began to develop a vivid fantasy world. He attended Ohio University from 1913-1917. In 1920, Thurber began his professional writing career as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. Seven years later, Thurber began writing for the New Yorker. Not long after taking the job as an editor, Thurber changed his mind and began writing. In 1930, Thurber’s drawings were taken from the trash and secretly published in the New Yorker. Thurber soon started his career as a cartoonist. In the 1950’s, Thurber published many modern fairy tales for children. One of Thurber’s big hits was called 13 Clocks. His eyesight began to worsen over the years and by the 1950’s Thurber was almost totally blind. Thurber wrote numerous types of books ranging from, short stories, fables, and children's stories. He won a Tony Award for his popular Broadway play, A Thurber Carnival. Thurber died from pneumonia on November 2, 1961.