Jesse Lynch Williams (August 17, 1871 – September 14, 1929) was an American author and dramatist. He won the first
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
for his play ''
Why Marry?'' (1917). He was a journalist for three New York publications and co-founded the ''
Princeton Alumni Weekly
The ''Princeton Alumni Weekly'' (''PAW'') is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New ...
'' and the
Princeton Triangle Club.
Early life
Born in
Sterling, Illinois
Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the city has long been associated with manufacturing an ...
on August 17, 1871 to Elizabeth Brown (Riddle) and Rev. Meade Creighton Williams,
pastor of a Presbyterian church in St. Louis, Missouri.
His father wrote ''Early Mackinac'' and was the editor of a Presbyterian journal. Jesse's brothers were David. R. Williams, of St. Louis, and Terrell Williams, a law school professor of
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
.
His grandfather, also Jesse Lynch Williams, was appointed by President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
as the government director of the roads. He was an engineer and constructor for the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
.
Education and career
Williams studied at Beloit Academy.
He began his literary career in college. He won the ''Nassau Literary Magazine'' short story contest in his junior year.
[ From Alexander Leitch, ''A Princeton Companion'', ]Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financia ...
(1978). He received his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 1892.
As a graduate student at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, he wrote ''Princeton Stories'' (1895)
which often featured the daily life of an undergraduate football player. He graduated from Princeton with a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in 1895.
In 1898, he wrote ''The History of Princeton University'' with John de Witt.
He and
Booth Tarkington
Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels '' The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitz ...
co-founded the
Triangle Club
The Princeton Triangle Club is a theater troupe at Princeton University. Founded in 1891, it is one of the oldest collegiate theater troupes in the United States. Triangle
premieres an original student-written musical every year, and then takes ...
at Princeton
and edited ''The Lit''. For three years, beginning in 1900, he co-founded and was the first editor of the ''
Princeton Alumni Weekly
The ''Princeton Alumni Weekly'' (''PAW'') is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New ...
''.
Robert Frost wrote a recommendation to the University of Michigan regarding his suitability for the Fellowship of Creative Arts. Frost indicated that Williams was relevant, open-minded, practical, a "good all-around participator", and, along with his wife, good company. During the 1925–1926 academic year, he held the Fellowship in Creative Arts at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
.
He received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Princeton in 1919.
Beginning in 1893, he was a reporter for ''
The Sun (New York City)
''The Sun'' was a New York newspaper published from 1833 until 1950. It was considered a serious paper, like the city's two more successful broadsheets, ''The New York Times'' and the ''New York Herald Tribune''. The Sun was the first successfu ...
'', and wrote fiction on the side.
He joined the staff at the ''
New York Commercial Advertiser'' (''
The New York Globe
''The New York Globe'', also called ''The New York Evening Globe'', was a daily New York City newspaper published from 1904 to 1923, when it was bought and merged into ''The New York Sun''. It is not related to a New York City-based Saturday fami ...
'') from 1895 to 1897, followed by the ''
Scribner's Magazine
''Scribner's Magazine'' was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. ''Scribner's Magazine'' was the second magazine out of the Scribner's firm, after the publication of ' ...
''. From 1900 to 1903, he was the editor of the ''
Princeton Alumni Weekly
The ''Princeton Alumni Weekly'' (''PAW'') is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New ...
'', after which he worked full-time writing plays and novels.
He wrote a number of short stories starting in the 1890s.
He wrote four plays and six novels by 1929, including ''
Why Marry?'' (1917), for which he was awarded the first
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
.
He wrote the play ''The Stolen Story'' (1906), based upon his times as a reporter,
which he first wrote as a short story, ''The Stolen Story and Other Newspaper Stories.'' He wrote the play ''The Stolen Story'' (1906), based upon his times as a reporter.
His plays ''Why Marry?'' (1917) and ''Why Not'' (1922), and ''Lovely Lady'' (1925) were produced on Broadway. ''Why Not'' explores the experiences of divorce. ''Lovely Lady'' is about the attempts of a lady to attract the attentions of a lawyer and his son.
His novels and stories include ''Princeton Stories'',
''The Adventures of a Freshman'' (1899), ''The Girl and the Game'' (1908), ''The Married Life of the Frederic Carrolls'' (1910),
and ''She Knew She Was Right''.
He was a member of the Authors League of America, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and other organizations, in which he sometimes had a leadership role.
Marriage and children
He was married to Alice Laidlaw (1872–1960,
daughter of Elizabeth C. Onderdonk and Henry Bell Laidlaw, on June 1, 1898 in New York. They had three children,
Henry Meade, Jesse Lynch, and Laidlaw Onderdonk Williams.
They lived in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
. Alice graduated from
Veltin School for Girls Veltin School for Girls was a private school founded by Louise Veltin in 1886 in Manhattan, New York. Veltin and Isabelle Dwight Sprague Smith were the school's principals.
The school was initially located at 175 West 73rd Street, but moved in 18 ...
in 1892. She was a member of the
Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...
and the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...
, and a number of organizations, including sitting on the executive board of the New Jersey Equal Franchise Society.
She wrote a book entitled ''Sunday Suppers'' (1912).
Death
Williams died of a heart attack on September 14, 1929 at the home of Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Theodore Douglas Robinson
Theodore Douglas Robinson (April 28, 1883 – April 10, 1934) was an American politician from New York who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy from November 1924 to 1929. He was a member of the Roosevelt family through his mother and was ...
in
Jordanville, New York
Jordanville is a hamlet in the town of Warren, Herkimer County, New York, United States. Jordanville is in the northwestern part of Warren, at the intersection of New York State Route 167 and County Route 155. The community was settled by E ...
or
Herkimer, New York
Herkimer is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States, southeast of Utica. It is named after Nicholas Herkimer. The population was 10,175 at the 2010 census.
The town contains a village also called Herkimer. Herkimer County Community ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jesse Lynch
1871 births
1929 deaths
Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners
American dramatists and playwrights
People from Sterling, Illinois
Writers from Illinois
Princeton University alumni
University of Michigan fellows