author
Franklin H. (Franklin Harvey) Head
1832–1914
A Chicago lawyer, historian, and essayist, he wrote curious, wide-ranging books that wandered from Shakespeare and insomnia to early American history. His work has the feel of a learned amateur following whatever question caught his attention most.
1 Audiobook
Shakespeare's Insomnia, and the Causes Thereof
by Franklin H. (Franklin Harvey) Head
About the author
Born in Oneida County, New York, in 1832, Franklin Harvey Head later studied law and moved west to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he began practicing as a lawyer. He went on to become part of Chicago's intellectual and historical life, and records connected with the Chicago Historical Society show him active in that world in the early 1900s.
Head wrote across an unusually broad range of subjects. Catalogs of his books show titles on early American history, medieval and modern history, literary criticism, and the quirky little volume Shakespeare's Insomnia, and the Causes Thereof. That mix makes him an appealing figure for curious readers: not a narrow specialist, but a writer who seems to have loved exploring odd corners of history and literature.
He died in 1914. Today, much of his work survives through library and public-domain archives, where his essays and privately printed books still offer a glimpse of the reading tastes and historical interests of his era.