Frederick C. (Frederick Clyde) Davis

Born in Missouri in 1902, he became a professional writer while still young and went on to build a notably prolific career in American pulp magazines. He was educated at Dartmouth College, and his work ranged widely across adventure, detective, and mystery fiction.

He is especially remembered for creating the Moon Man and for writing early Operator #5 novels. He also published under several pen names, including Stephen Ransome, Murdo Coombs, and Curtis Steele, a sign of how adaptable he was in the high-output world of popular magazine fiction.

Later, his reputation settled most strongly around mystery and crime writing, including novels featuring Professor Cy Hatch. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1977, but his stories have continued to circulate through reprints and pulp-fiction revivals.