Henry Wheeler Shaw
Henry Wheeler Shaw, born on April 21, 1818, in Lanesboro, Massachusetts, was an influential American humorist best known by his pen name, Josh Billings. After a diverse career that included roles as a steamboat worker, farmer, and auctioneer, Shaw returned to his hometown to marry Zilpha Bradford and eventually settled in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he continued his work as an auctioneer and entered local politics. It was during this period that he began writing, initially with little success, until he adopted a distinctive spelling style that complemented his humorous voice. His breakthrough came with "An Essa on the Muel," which garnered significant attention and marked the beginning of his literary acclaim. Shaw's most recognized work, "Josh Billings' Farmars Almanax," published in 1870, sold hundreds of thousands of copies and solidified his status as a prominent humor columnist for the New York Weekly. He also enjoyed a successful lecturing career, captivating audiences with his unique delivery and humorous anecdotes. Shaw's life came to an unexpected end from apoplexy on October 14, 1885, in Berkeley, California, but his writings continued to be celebrated long after his passing. His legacy remains as a notable figure in American humor and satire.
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Henry Wheeler Shaw
Writer
- Born: April 21, 1818
- Birthplace: Lanesboro, Massachusetts
- Died: October 14, 1885
- Place of death: Berkeley, California
Biography
Henry Wheeler Shaw was born in Lanesboro, Massachusetts, on April 21, 1818. His family contained male role models involved in national and state politics. He attended district schooling, performed college preparatory study at a private academy, and later attended Hamilton in 1833, but was expelled for climbing a lightning rod and also removing the clapper from the chapel bell.
Shaw spent the next ten years traveling and working many different jobs in the Midwest and West, including steamboat worker, farmer, and auctioneer. At the age of twenty-seven, after discharging his youthful wanderlust, he returned to Lanesboro to marry his childhood sweetheart, Zilpha Bradford. The couple spent the next few years moving about and working different jobs before moving to Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1858. Here, Shaw settled down as an auctioneer and real-estate agent. He was later elected to the city council. Shaw and his wife raised two daughters.
It was at this time that Shaw started his writing career. He wrote several articles, but they received attention. Eventually, Shaw attempted writing again, but with a unique form of spelling that better fit his humorous and satirical articles. The result was “An Essa on the Muel, bi Josh Billings.” After this, Shaw received the recognition he deserved. Upon attaining this recognition, Shaw moved to New York City in 1867 to begin his career as humor columnist for the New York Weekly. Shaw’s columns would continue to be published for the remaining eighteen years of his life. They would even continue to be reprinted posthumously since the publication failed to publish the news of his death in 1885.
His next work, Josh Billings’ Farmars Almanax, published in 1870, which is a play on the Old Farmer’s Almanac, became the one for which he is best known. Hundreds of thousands of copies were sold in the next few years. He wrote other articles for the New York Weekly and Century Magazine, but none were as popular as Josh Billings’ Farmars Almanax.
In 1863, Shaw began a lecturing career. His lectures consisted of simple unrelated sayings, but his mannerisms and atmosphere made him popular. For seventeen consecutive seasons, Shaw lectured a minimum of one hundred nights a year, at one hundred dollars a night. His lectures led him to a friendship with the newest satirist, Mark Twain, with whom he toured, along with David Ross Locke. He died unexpectedly from apoplexy in Berkeley, California, on October 14, 1885.