Paul Leicester Ford

Born in Brooklyn in 1865, he grew up in a family deeply interested in American history and books. A childhood spinal injury kept him from regular schooling, so he was educated at home and developed his knowledge largely through reading and private study.

He became known as a remarkably productive man of letters: a bibliographer, editor, biographer, novelist, and playwright. His work included studies of major American figures such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, editorial work on the writings of Thomas Jefferson, and successful fiction including The Honorable Peter Stirling and Janice Meredith.

His career was brief but unusually full, ending in 1902 when he died at age thirty-seven. Even within that short span, he built a reputation for combining careful historical interest with storytelling that helped bring early American life to a wide readership.