Thornton wilder biography summary template

American playwright and novelist (1897–1975)

Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist (and occasional actor in his own plays.) He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and for the plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a U.S.

National Book Award for the novel The Eighth Day.

Early life and education

Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Amos Parker Wilder, a newspaper editor^[1] and later a U.S.

diplomat, and Isabella Thornton Niven.^[2]

Wilder had four siblings as well as a twin who was stillborn.^[3] All of the surviving Wilder children spent part of their childhood in China when their father was stationed in Hong Kong and Shanghai as U.S.

Consul General. Thornton's older brother, Amos Niven Wilder, became Hollis Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School. He was a noted poet^{[citation needed]}