Allen French

Born in Boston on November 28, 1870, Allen French was an American historian and fiction writer whose career joined storytelling with serious scholarship. He studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spent time at the University of Berlin, and later attended Harvard.

French wrote children's and adventure books inspired by myth and legend, including stories drawn from the worlds of King Arthur and the Vikings. He also became known for deeply researched historical works on the American Revolution, especially on Lexington, Concord, and Ticonderoga.

He lived much of his later life in Concord, Massachusetts, and was active in the literary and historical life of the town. A founding member and later president of the Thoreau Society, he died on October 6, 1946.