David Ross Locke

author

David Ross Locke

1833–1888

A sharp American satirist and newspaper editor, he became famous for the "Petroleum V. Nasby" letters, which used humor to skewer pro-slavery politics during the Civil War. His writing was lively, biting, and widely read in its day, helping turn political satire into a force in public debate.

2 Audiobooks

Nasby in Exile or, Six Months of Travel in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, with many things not of travel

Nasby in Exile or, Six Months of Travel in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, with many things not of travel

by David Ross Locke

"Swingin round the cirkle" : His ideas of men, politics, and things, as set forth in his letters to the public press, during the year 1866.

"Swingin round the cirkle" : His ideas of men, politics, and things, as set forth in his letters to the public press, during the year 1866.

by David Ross Locke

About the author

Born in New York in 1833, David Ross Locke left school young and learned the printer's trade before building a career in journalism in Ohio. He edited several newspapers and developed a reputation as a quick, forceful writer with a strong feel for politics and public opinion.

Locke is best remembered for writing under the pen name Petroleum V. Nasby. Through that fictional voice, he mocked racism, Confederate sympathy, and political hypocrisy with comic letters that became hugely popular during the American Civil War. His satire was influential enough to make him a nationally known figure, and his work was admired by many readers of the era, including political leaders.

He later continued his newspaper career in Toledo, where he remained an important editorial presence until his death in 1888. Today he is remembered as an early American political humorist whose satire showed how comedy could expose the uglier sides of public life.