author
Cornélis De Witt Willcox
1861–1938
A career U.S. Army officer who also became a respected military writer and language teacher, he brought practical experience and scholarly curiosity to everything he wrote. His books range from military studies to travel writing shaped by years of service at home and abroad.
1 Audiobook
The Head Hunters of Northern Luzon
by Cornélis De Witt Willcox
About the author
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1861, he was educated at the University of Georgia and later graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1885. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army, including in the Santiago campaign during the Spanish-American War, and later returned to West Point as a professor of modern languages.
Alongside his military career, he built a strong reputation as a scholar and author. He wrote on military history and strategy, produced language-learning works such as War French, and published travel writing including The Head Hunters of Northern Luzon, reflecting his experiences in the Philippines.
His career shows an unusual mix of soldier, teacher, and writer. That blend gives his work a direct, informed quality: he was not only studying war and language from a distance, but also drawing on real service, teaching, and observation.