Charles Turner Dazey

Born in Lima, Illinois, in 1855, Charles Turner Dazey became an American writer and playwright whose work reached wide audiences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He studied in Lexington, Kentucky, then graduated from Harvard in 1881, where he edited The Harvard Advocate and was chosen as his class poet.

Dazey is most closely associated with In Old Kentucky, the play that made his name, and he also wrote works including The War of Wealth and the novel The Old Flute Player: A Romance of Today. His writing career stretched across the stage and into early screen adaptation, reflecting a knack for storytelling that connected with popular audiences.

He died in Quincy, Illinois, in 1938. Accounts of his later life also credit him with supporting public projects in North Dakota, including helping fund Fargo’s first public library and donating land connected to the town that came to bear the Dazey name.