Bertrand Shurtleff

Born in Little Compton, Rhode Island, on August 3, 1897, Bertrand Leslie "Bert" Shurtleff studied at Brown University after service in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force during World War I. He stood out as both a wrestler and football player at Brown, later played professional football, and also worked as a teacher and coach.

Alongside that athletic career, he built a steady writing life. While still a student he published a book of verse, Songs at Anchor, and over the years he went on to publish novels and place stories in magazines including Argosy, Amazing Stories, and Astounding Science Fiction. One of his early novels, Carey's Carnival (1938), drew on Rhode Island history, and he also wrote the AWOL series about a German military dog during World War II.

What makes Shurtleff memorable is the unusual mix of worlds he moved through: sports, teaching, public speaking, and popular fiction. That varied background gave his writing an energetic, practical feel, and helped him speak to readers in more than one genre before his death in 1967.