Harry Neal Baum (December 18, 1889 – June 7, 1967) was an American author and the third son of

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

. His father dedicated his 1902 novel ''

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' is a 1902 children's book, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark. Setting Plot As a baby, Santa Claus is found in the Forest of Burzee by Ak, the Master Woodsman of the World ...

'' to him. Baum, who received a Ph.D. in

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

, wrote a number of history books for children. He worked in several advertising companies and ghostwrote the 1917 novel '' Mary Louise Solves a Mystery'' to satisfy his ailing father's publishing obligations.

Early life

Raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Baum was born in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen ( Lakota: ''Ablíla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre. The city population was 28,495 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populous ci ...

, on December 18, 1889, to Maud Gage and

. The third son of L. Frank Baum, the author of ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...

'', he was named "Harry Neal Baum" to honor Harry Baum and Hattie and William Neal, L. Frank Baum's brother, sister, and brother-in-law, respectively. His brothers were Frank Joslyn, Robert Stanton, and Kenneth Gage.

Career

Baum received a Ph.D. in

and wrote three history books for children and articles about his father. He coauthored with Olive Beaupré Miller the ''Book of History'', a 1929 four-volume work published by The Bookhouse for Children. He served as a vice president of

Burson-Marsteller Burson Cohn & Wolfe is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City. In February 2018, parent WPP Group PLC announced that it had merged its subsidiaries Cohn & Wolfe with Burson-Marsteller. The comb ...

. He worked as an advertising manager at

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, fee ...

before being employed at Gebhardt & Brockson, a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based advertising company.

''The Wizard of Oz'' and personal life

dedicated his 1902 novel ''

'' to Harry. Because of L. Frank Baum's deteriorating health in 1917, he was unable to fulfill his obligations to his publishers. Therefore, Harry ghostwrote the 1917 novel '' Mary Louise Solves a Mystery'', which was part of ''

The Bluebird Books ''The Bluebird Books'' is a series of novels popular with teenage girls in the 1910s and 1920s. The series was begun by L. Frank Baum using his Edith Van Dyne pseudonym, then continued by at least three others, all using the same pseudonym. Baum ...

'' series, mimicking his father's style. In 1944, Harry starred as President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

in the play ''The Time to Come'' produced by the Little Theater of Western Springs. He stated that he considered acting to be only a hobby. He had seen the opening production of '' The Wizard of Oz'', which had been written by his father. Baum also served as the host of a number of annual meetings held by

The International Wizard of Oz Club The International Wizard of Oz Club, Inc., was founded during 1957 by Justin G. Schiller, a then thirteen-year-old boy. The sixteen charter members, some of whom continue to make valuable contributions to the club, were garnered from the mailing ...

. At the 1964 convention, he awarded a gold plaque, the annual club's annual Oz award, to its founder Justin Schiller who had established the club when he was thirteen years old. Baum married Mary Niles in 1910. In 1942, he married Brenda Holter, a pianist and composer who served as the president of Chicago's Musicians Club of Women. Baum retired to

Bass Lake, Indiana Bass Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in California and North Bend Townships, Starke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,195 at the 2010 census. Covering over 1,300 surface acres, Bass Lake is the third-largest natu ...

, at which he managed the Wizard of Oz lodge. Upon his death, on June 7, 1967, he was survived by his wife, Brenda. He was also survived by sons Richard and Henry and daughters Ann and Judith, as well as 11 grandchildren.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * *

External links

Harry Neal Baum
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baum, Harry Neal 1889 births 1967 deaths People from Aberdeen, South Dakota Writers from Chicago Writers from South Dakota American medievalists Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Historians from Illinois Baum family