Ward, Artemus
WARD, ARTEMUS, the pen-name of Charles Farrar Browne (1834-1867), American humorous writer, was born in Waterford, Maine. He- began life as a compositor and became an occasional contributor to the daily and weekly journals. In 1858 he published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer the first of the ' Artemus Ward " series, which attained great popularity both in America and England. His separate publications were: Arlemiis Ward: his Book (New York, 1862); Artemus Ward: his Travels (New York, 1865); Artemus Ward among the Fenians (1865); Betsey Jane Ward: hur Book of Goaks (New York, 1866), generally attributed to him; Artemus Ward in London, and other Papers (New York, 1867). Artemus Ward's Lecture at the Egyptian Hall . . . and other Relics of the Humourist (London, 1869), edited by T. W. Robertson and J. C. Hotten, was published posthumously (New York, 1869). His wit largely relied on the drollery of strange spelling. 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 his eccentric humour attracted large audiences. In 1866, he visited 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 consumption at Southampton on the 6th of March 1867.
His Complete Works, with memoir by E. P. Kingston, were published in London in the same year, and Sandwiches at New York in 1870.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
