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Francis Richard Stockton was born April 5, 1834, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. He was an esteemed writer, using the name, also called Frank Richard Stockton, until he died on April 20, 1902 in Washington, D.C. Born on April 5, 1834 into a Methodist family in Philadelphia, Stockton was deeply interested in writing. However, his father, a Methodist minister, essentially forbade Stockton from writing. It wasn’t until his father’s death when Stockton moved to make writing his career. Stockton had dabbled in writing while living in New Jersey with his wife, Mary Ann Edwards Tuttle, while also working as a wood engraver. In 1867, Stockton returned to Philadelphia and began writing for his brother’s newspaper.Stockton focused on writing for children. He was a very popular author, in part because he used humor to illustrate how to be a good person and to highlight negative characteristics, like greed. Some of his most famous works include “The Lady, or the Tiger?”, The Adventures of Captain Horn, and The Great War Syndicate.
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