Fred C. (Fred Charters) Kelly

Born in Xenia, Ohio, Fred Charters Kelly was an American humorist, newspaperman, columnist, and author. He studied at the University of Michigan and began newspaper work young, later writing a humor column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. From 1910 to 1918, his "Statesmen, Real and Near" column became the first Washington news column to be syndicated.

Kelly wrote across several genres, but he is especially associated with aviation history. He became the authorized biographer of the Wright brothers, and his book The Wright Brothers earned a lasting reputation because of his personal connection to Orville Wright and his clear, readable style.

Alongside journalism and biography, Kelly also published books about personality, business, and human behavior, showing the same interest in how people think and act. That mix of curiosity, humor, and plainspoken storytelling helped make his work accessible to a wide audience in the first half of the twentieth century.