William Livingston Klein

William Livingston Klein was an American author remembered for Why We Punctuate; or, Reason Versus Rule in the Use of Marks. The book first appeared in the 1890s, and a second edition, described as entirely rewritten, was published in Minneapolis in 1916.

From the surviving record, Klein seems to have been deeply interested in how written language works in practice. In the preface to Why We Punctuate, he explained that he wanted to give readers reasons for punctuation, not just rules, which helps explain why the book has remained of interest long after its original publication.

Basic biographical details are limited in the sources I could confirm, but cemetery and library records identify him as having been born in 1851 and dying in 1931. No suitable verified portrait image was available from the sources I checked, so none is included here.