John T. (John Tyler) Wheelwright

Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1856, John Tyler Wheelwright studied at Harvard, earning his A.B. in 1876 and his law degree in 1878. He was admitted to the bar in 1879, but he also built a literary life alongside his legal and public work.

As a student, he helped found The Harvard Lampoon, a clue to the wit that runs through parts of his writing. His books include Rollo's Journey to Cambridge, a comic Harvard-centered parody, A Bad Penny, and, with Robert Grant, John Boyle O'Reilly, and Frederic J. Stimson, the speculative tale The King's Men: A Tale of To-morrow.

Wheelwright also turned toward history and editing later on. He prepared The Mayflower Pilgrims, a condensed presentation of Governor William Bradford's narrative in its original wording and spelling, showing an interest not just in storytelling but in bringing early American writing to new readers. He died in 1925.