William O. Steele
William O. Steele was an American author born on December 22, 1917, in Franklin, Tennessee. His early life was marked by a fascination with the history of pioneers, sparked by childhood activities such as hunting for Indian artifacts. After earning a bachelor's degree from Cumberland University and serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Steele established a writing career that began with his first two novels, "The Golden Root" and "The Buffalo Knife." Initially, his works depicted the experiences of white settlers, but by the 1960s, he shifted to exploring narratives from the Native American perspective, illustrating their struggles against encroachment on their lands. Steele aimed to create authentic historical characters, capturing the true essence of their time and environment. His dedication to historical accuracy and character development earned him several accolades, including the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and a Newbery Honor citation. Steele passed away on June 25, 1979, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, shortly after completing his thirty-ninth book.
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Subject Terms
William O. Steele
Author
- Born: December 22, 1917
- Birthplace: Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee
- Died: June 25, 1979
- Place of death: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Biography
William Owen Steele was born on December 22, 1917, in Franklin, Tennessee, the son of Core Steele, a purchasing agent, and Sue Steele, née Johnson. During his childhood, he enjoyed hunting for Indian artifacts in fields and playing in an abandoned log cabin, activities that aroused a fascination with the lives of the pioneers.
Steele received his bachelor’s degree from Cumberland University in 1940. He then spent five years in the Army Air Corps, including service in World War II. He married Mary Quintard Govan, a fellow writer, on June 1, 1943. They had three children: Mary Quintard, Jenifer Susan, and Allerton William. After returning from the service, Steele attended graduate classes at the University of Chattanooga. After the publication of his first two books, The Golden Root and The Buffalo Knife, he was able to quit his clerical job and support his family through full-time writing.
Steele’s early novels were written almost entirely from the point of view of the white settlers, but by 1960 he began to experiment with novels told from the Native American perspective, showing that in many ways the native peoples of North America could be seen as freedom fighters valiantly struggling to preserve some fragment of their traditional lands in the face of encroachment by a technologically more developed culture that saw itself as having no moral obligation to adhere to an entire series of treaties. In all cases, he strove to create characters that were not merely modern people in period dress, but who actually thought, spoke and felt like people of their time. Steele strove to give his readers such impressions as the feeling of wearing chafing buckskins and of the fear of traveling through dangerous forests full of enemies both four-footed and two- footed. He wanted to recreate the time and place as realistically as possible.
Steele’s painstaking work won him a number of awards, including the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, the William Allen White Children’s Book Award, and a Newbery Honor citation. Steele died on June 25, 1979, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, shortly after finishing his thirty-ninth book.