Owen Wister (1860-1938) was an American writer and historian best known for his novel The Virginian, which is considered the first true western novel. He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, to a wealthy family. He attended Harvard University, where he studied law and graduated in 1882. After graduation, he traveled extensively in Europe and the American West. Wister's first novel, The Virginian, was published in 1902 and was an immediate success. It was adapted into a play and several films, and is still widely read today. He wrote several other novels, including Lady Baltimore (1906) and The Jimmyjohn Boss (1911). He also wrote several short stories and essays, and was a frequent contributor to magazines such as Harper's and The Atlantic. Wister was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was awarded an honorary degree from Harvard in 1912. He died in 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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