Don Marquis facts for kids

Don Marquis, a humorist and writer, in the early 1910s.

Donald Robert Perry Marquis (pronounced MAR-kwis; born July 29, 1878 – died December 29, 1937) was a famous American writer. He was known for being a humorist, journalist, novelist, poet, and playwright. He is best remembered for creating the funny characters Archy and Mehitabel. These characters were supposedly the authors of humorous poems. During his life, he was also very famous for another made-up character called "the Old Soak." This character appeared in books, a popular play on Broadway, and even movies.

Life of Don Marquis

Don Marquis was born and grew up in Walnut, Illinois. He finished Walnut High School in 1894. After high school, he briefly attended Knox Academy in 1896.

From 1902 to 1907, he worked for the Atlanta Journal newspaper. There, he wrote many articles during a big election.

In 1909, Marquis married Reina Melcher. They had a son named Robert and a daughter named Barbara. Sadly, Reina passed away in 1923.

Three years later, Marquis married actress Marjorie Potts Vonnegut. She died in 1936.

Don Marquis died in New York City in 1937 after having several strokes.

To honor him, the United States Navy named a ship after him. It was called the USS Don Marquis (IX-215) and was christened on August 23, 1943.

Don Marquis's Career

Marquis started working for the The Evening Sun newspaper in New York in 1912. For the next eleven years, he wrote a daily column called "The Sun Dial."

In 1922, he moved to the New York Tribune newspaper. His new daily column, "The Tower" (later "The Lantern"), was very successful. He also wrote columns and short stories for many popular magazines. These included Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and American magazines. He also wrote for Harper's, Scribner's, and Cosmopolitan.

Archy and Mehitabel

Marquis's most famous creations were Archy and Mehitabel. Archy was a fictional cockroach who supposedly wrote poems. The story was that Archy had been a poet in a past life. He would leave poems on Marquis's typewriter by jumping on the keys. Archy usually typed only in small letters without punctuation. This was because he couldn't use the shift key. His poems were a type of social satire, which means they made fun of society in a clever way.

Mehitabel was an alley cat. She was sometimes Archy's friend and was the subject of some of Archy's poems. A cartoonist named George Herriman drew pictures for the "archy and mehitabel" stories.

Other Characters and Works

Don Marquis also created other fun characters. These included Pete the Pup, a ghost named Clarence, and a very proud toad called Warty Bliggins.

Marquis wrote about 35 books during his career. He also helped write or contributed to several films. These included The Sports Pages, Shinbone Alley, The Good Old Soak, and Skippy.

See also

In Spanish: Don Marquis para niños