O. Henry
![Portrait by [[William van der Weyde|W. M. Vanderweyde]] (1909)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/William_Sydney_Porter_by_doubleday.jpg)
Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Porter worked at his uncle's pharmacy after finishing school and became a licensed pharmacist at age 19. In March 1882, he moved to Texas, where he initially lived on a ranch, and later settled in Austin, where he met his first wife, Athol Estes Roach. While working as a drafter for the Texas General Land Office, Porter began developing characters for his short stories. He later worked for the First National Bank of Austin, where he wrote ''The Rolling Stone'' weekly in newspapers.
After moving to Houston in 1895, he was charged with embezzlement stemming from an audit of the bank and fled to Honduras before trial. During his stay in Honduras, he began writing ''Cabbages and Kings'', which originated the term "banana republic". Porter surrendered to U.S. authorities when he learned his wife was dying from tuberculosis, and he cared for her until her death in July 1897. He began his five-year prison sentence in March 1898 at the Ohio Penitentiary, where he served as a night druggist. Porter wrote 14 stories from prison under various pseudonyms, one being O. Henry.
Released from prison early for good behavior, Porter moved to Pittsburgh to be with his daughter Margaret before relocating to New York City, where he wrote 381 short stories. He married once more to Sarah (Sallie) Lindsey Coleman before she left him in 1909. Porter died on June 5, 1910, after years of deteriorating health. Porter's legacy includes the O. Henry Award, an annual prize awarded to outstanding short stories. Provided by Wikipedia