author
Charles Dwight Willard
1866–1914
A journalist, civic booster, and novelist from early Los Angeles, he moved easily between reporting the news and shaping the city’s public image. His work ranges from local history and political writing to the playful animal tale The Fall of Ulysses.
1 Audiobook
The Fall of Ulysses: An Elephant Story
by Charles Dwight Willard
About the author
Born in Illinois in 1866, Charles Dwight Willard became a newspaperman and author whose career was closely tied to Southern California. Archival records describe him as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the Herald, and later as a publicity director who played a visible role in Los Angeles civic life.
In 1891, he became secretary of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and in 1894 he founded The Land of Sunshine, a magazine associated with promoting the region. That mix of journalism, boosterism, and public affairs helps explain the wide range of his writing, which included local history, political commentary, and books.
Willard died in 1914. Today, he is remembered both for his part in telling the story of a fast-changing Los Angeles and for works that remain accessible through public-domain collections, including The Fall of Ulysses: An Elephant Story.