Archibald Clavering Gunter

Born in Liverpool on October 25, 1847, and raised largely in California, Archibald Clavering Gunter built an unusually varied career before becoming a full-time man of letters. Reference works and archival material describe him as, at different times, a mining and civil engineer, stockbroker, novelist, playwright, and publisher.

He became a prolific and widely read popular writer in the late 1800s, known for novels such as Mr. Barnes of New York and for adapting his fiction for the stage. He is also remembered for helping popularize Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat" by passing it along to performer DeWolf Hopper, whose recitations made it famous.

Gunter died in New York City on February 24, 1907. Today he is often noted both for his commercial success in his own era and for A Florida Enchantment, the novel that later inspired the film of the same name.