# Owen Wister

## Biography

Owen Wister was an American writer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 1860. Raised in a privileged Eastern family, he initially pursued a career in music, studying composition in Paris after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard. Ill health brought him back to the United States, and a recuperative summer in Wyoming sparked a lifelong fascination with the American West. Although he later earned a law degree from Harvard and briefly practiced in Philadelphia, Wister ultimately dedicated himself to writing. His experiences traveling throughout the West, observing its landscapes and inhabitants, informed his work. In 1902, he published his seminal novel, The Virginian, which is widely credited with establishing the cowboy as an American folk hero and solidifying the Western as a distinct literary genre. Wister continued to write throughout his life, penning biographies and other works, and passed away on July 21, 1938.

## Books

- [The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains](https://samolit.com/books/96590)