H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken

Born in Baltimore in 1880, Henry Louis Mencken built his career as a newspaper reporter and editor, most notably at The Baltimore Sun. He also became a major magazine editor and critic, helping introduce and champion important American writers while developing a style that was brisk, skeptical, and unmistakably his own.

Mencken is best remembered for books such as The American Language, his lively studies of American speech, and for collections of essays that mocked cant, conformity, and public hypocrisy. He was especially drawn to debates over politics, culture, and religion, and his coverage of the 1925 Scopes trial helped fix his reputation as one of the country's boldest public commentators.

Even readers who disagree with him often find him hard to ignore. His writing could be funny, abrasive, and controversial, but it helped shape American journalism and literary criticism, and it still stands out for its energy and independence.