Charles Farrar Browne, (
1834 -
March 6,
1867) was an American humorous writer, best known under his
nom de plume of
Artemus Ward, was born in Waterford, Maine. He began life as a compositor and occasional contributor to the daily and weekly journals. In 1858 he published in the Cleveland
Plaindealer the first of the"Artemus Ward" seres [series?], which in a collected form achieved great
popularity in both America and England. In 1860 he became editor of
Vanity Fair, a humorous New York weekly, which proved a
failure. About the same time he began to appear as a lecturer, and by his droll and eccentric humour attracted large audiences.
In 1866 he visted England, where he became exceedingly popular both as a lecturer and as a contributor to Punch. In the spring of the following year his health gave way and he died of tuberculosis at
Southampton on March 6, 1867.
This article was adapted from the 9th edition of an unnamed encyclopedia