Henry Blossom

Born in St. Louis on May 10, 1866, Henry Martyn Blossom Jr. was an American writer, playwright, novelist, librettist, and lyricist. He gained broad notice with Checkers: A Hard Luck Story (1896), a success that he later adapted for the stage as Checkers, helping make his name familiar to theatergoers as well as readers.

Blossom worked across several forms of popular entertainment, which makes him especially interesting today. In addition to fiction, he wrote for Broadway and musical theater, showing a talent for stories that could move easily from the page to performance. He is also associated with Brewster's Millions, another title that stayed alive long after his lifetime through later adaptations.

He died on March 23, 1919. Although he is not as widely read now as some of his contemporaries, his work offers a lively glimpse of American popular writing and theater in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.