Marshall P. (Marshall Pinckney) Wilder

Born in Geneva, New York, on September 19, 1859, Marshall Pinckney Wilder became an American actor, monologist, humorist, and sketch artist. As a young man he worked ordinary jobs before earning extra money by giving humorous monologues, and those small performances helped launch him into full-time entertainment.

His career grew from private drawing-room appearances in New York to wider fame in vaudeville and on the lecture stage. In 1883 he traveled to London, where he became especially popular, and he later made a round-the-world tour. He also wrote books including The People I've Smiled With, The Sunnyside of the Street, and Smiling Around the World.

Wilder was widely admired in his lifetime for his optimism as well as his talent. Though he lived with dwarfism and kyphosis, he was remembered for refusing to make himself a novelty act, instead winning audiences with humor, charm, and resilience. He died in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 10, 1915.