Arthur May Mowry

Born in 1862, Arthur May Mowry was an American writer and educator associated with a number of history books published around the turn of the twentieth century. Library and archive records credit him as coauthor, with William A. Mowry, of school texts including A History of the United States for Schools, First Steps in the History of Our Country, and American Inventions and Inventors.

He also wrote First Steps in the History of England on his own, and that book’s title pages describe him as the author of a study of Rhode Island’s constitutional struggle, often known as The Dorr War or The Constitutional Controversy in Rhode Island in 1841. His books suggest a writer interested in making history readable and useful for students, with a strong connection to New England subjects.

Available records place his life from 1862 to 1900, with ties to Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Although detailed biographical information is limited in the sources I could confirm, his surviving books show a productive career cut short at a relatively young age.