Charles S. Strong facts for kids

Charles Stanley Strong (born November 29, 1906 – died October 11, 1962) was a writer, adventurer, and explorer. He used many different pen names, which are fake names writers use. Some of his pen names included Chuck Stanley, William McClellan, and Nancy Bartlett. He also wrote under the famous names Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon. These names are known for popular book series like Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys.

Charles Strong wrote The Hooded Hawk Mystery for The Hardy Boys series. He also wrote The Scarlet Slipper Mystery for the Nancy Drew series. He was known for his exciting life. For example, he once shot a shark from an airplane using a machine gun!

Early Life and Education

Charles Strong was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 29, 1906. He went to college at the Pace Institute of Accounting and Law. He also studied at the Royal Fredrick University in Oslo, Norway.

Adventures and Writing Career

Charles Strong was famous for his travels and adventures. In 1931, a newspaper called the Brooklyn Eagle Magazine wrote about him. The article was titled Long Island Man Kills Sharks from Airplane. It described him as a traveler, explorer, and photographer.

The article said that Strong had many thrilling adventures. He visited 50 different countries. He explored unknown parts of Scandinavia. He traveled across frozen lands with people from Sweden, Norway, and Finland. He was even shipwrecked off the coast of Norway.

Strong also took part in a mapping trip over northwestern Canada. He worked with the Canadian Royal Air Force. He led a group across Finland. He was an honorary police commissioner in Norway. People in Sweden thought he was a hero. A Norwegian newspaper called him "The American who knows Scandinavia thoroughly." A Swedish newspaper called him "The American who discovered Sweden."

He loved riding horses, hunting, and fishing. He also enjoyed car and motorboat racing. Strong even created a special chart for European pilots. He suggested a peace plan after World War I. He sent his idea to the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.

Strong helped make the Royal Canadian Mounted Police popular in books. He wrote stories about their officers, Corporal Buchanan and Constable Carter. He used the pen name Charles Stoddard for these books.

He also wrote a chapter called "Twelve Days Eastward." This was for a book called Conquerors of the Sky by Joseph Lewis French. The famous pilot Amelia Earhart wrote the introduction for this book.

An Icelandic newspaper called Morgunblaðið mentioned him in 1928. It said he was the editor of the Scandinavian American News Bureau. Strong also worked as a correspondent in New York. He wrote for a radio publication called What's On the Air around 1931.

Later Life and Death

Charles Strong passed away on October 11, 1962. He was 55 years old.

Books by Charles S. Strong

Charles Strong wrote many books. Here are some of them:

• Ranger, Sea Dog of the Royal Mounted (1948): This book is about a Samoyed puppy. The puppy learns to be a great sailor.
• South Pole Husky (1950)
• Ranger's Arctic Patrol (1952)
• We Were There with Byrd at the South Pole (1956)
• The Real Book About the Antarctic (1959): He wrote this for the International Geophysical Year.
• The Story of American Sailing Ships (illustrated by Gordon Hope Grant)
• North of the Stars (1937) as Charles Stoddard
• Bullwacker (1955) as Larry Regan

He was well-known for writing books in popular series. These included:

• A Hardy Boys book called The Hooded Hawk Mystery (book #34) in 1954.
• Lassie: Treasure Hunter.
• The Nancy Drew book The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (book #32). This book was based on an idea by Harriet S. Adams.
• A series of books about Snow King, Herd Dog of Lapland. These stories were based on his travels in Lapland in 1928.

He also wrote a short article for Real Life Comics #2 (1941). It was called Light of Liberty and was about the Statue of Liberty.