The Wizard of Oz

Lyman Frank Baum was born in 1856 in Chittenango, New York, and after 2 years in the army at age 12, he began his writing career early on, starting with The Rose Lawn Home Journal with his brother Henry. By 17, he had published a second amateur journal, The Stamp Collector and started a stamp dealership with friends. At 20, he took a break from writing and took up breeding fancy poultry, specifically the Hamburg. He combined the two when he established a monthly trade journal in 1880 named The Poultry Record. At 30, he had published his first book, The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs. He also pursued a career in the theatre industry, though this almost bankrupted him. He eventually published, with the help of W. W. Denslow, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was a massive financial success. Two years after initial publication the book was still America's best-selling children's book. He went on to write 13 subsequent novels based on the Land of Oz. After he died, he passed on his legacy as the "Royal Historian of Oz" for many people to continue, namely Ruth Plumly Thomson and John R. Neill.