author
Archibald Henderson
1877–1963
A North Carolina mathematician who also became one of the best-known early interpreters of George Bernard Shaw and Mark Twain, he built an unusual career that moved easily between science, literature, and history. His writing helped bring major literary figures to a broader American audience while he spent decades teaching at the University of North Carolina.
3 Audiobooks
Mark Twain
by Archibald Henderson
The Conquest of the Old Southwest; the romantic story of the early pioneers into Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 1740-1790
by Archibald Henderson
George Bernard Shaw, his life and works : a critical biography (authorized)
by Archibald Henderson
About the author
Born in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1877, Archibald Henderson studied at the University of North Carolina and went on to spend roughly fifty years connected with its mathematics department as a student and professor. Alongside his academic work, he developed a wide-ranging public career as a writer, lecturer, critic, and historian.
He became especially well known for his work on George Bernard Shaw, eventually serving as Shaw's authorized biographer. He also formed a friendship with Mark Twain and wrote an early full-length study of Twain, adding to his reputation as a literary biographer with a gift for making major writers feel vivid and approachable.
Henderson's interests were strikingly broad: mathematics, drama, biography, and North Carolina history all found a place in his work. He died in 1963, remembered as a scholar who bridged the worlds of exact thinking and lively storytelling.