Edgar Rice Burroughs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edgar Rice Burroughs
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| Born | September 1, 1875 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 1950 (aged 74) Encino, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Tarzana, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Period | 1911–1950 |
| Genre | Adventure, fantasy, lost world, sword and planet, planetary romance, soft science fiction, western |
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| Notable awards | Inkpot Award (1975) |
| Spouse | Emma Centennia Hulbert (1900–1934) (divorced) Florence Gilbert (1935–1941) (divorced) |
| Children | Joan Burroughs Pierce, Hulbert Burroughs, John Coleman Burroughs |
| Relatives | James Pierce (son-in-law) |
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Edgar Rice Burroughs (born September 1, 1875 – died March 19, 1950) was an American writer. He is famous for his many adventure, science fiction, and fantasy stories. He created well-known characters like Tarzan and John Carter. He also wrote the Pellucidar series, the Amtor series, and the Caspak trilogy.
Tarzan quickly became very popular. Burroughs used this popularity to create Tarzan comic strips, movies, and other products. Tarzan is still one of the most successful fictional characters today. Burroughs's ranch in California is now the center of the Tarzana neighborhood in Los Angeles. This area was named after his famous character.
About Edgar Rice Burroughs
His Early Life and Family
Edgar Rice Burroughs was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 1, 1875. He was the fourth son of George Tyler Burroughs, a businessman and Civil War veteran. His mother was Mary Evaline (Zieger) Burroughs. His family had lived in North America since the early Colonial times. Many of his ancestors fought in the American Revolution.
Burroughs went to several local schools. He then attended Phillips Academy and the Michigan Military Academy. After graduating in 1895, he tried to join the United States Military Academy but did not pass the exam. He then became a soldier in the 7th U.S. Cavalry in Fort Grant, Arizona Territory. He was discharged in 1897 because of a heart problem.
After leaving the army, Burroughs worked many different jobs. He spent time as a cowboy in Idaho. In 1899, he worked at his father's factory in Chicago. In January 1900, he married his childhood sweetheart, Emma Hulbert.
In 1903, he joined his brothers in Idaho. They were ranchers and partners in a mining company. Burroughs helped manage their gold dredge on the Snake River. When the mine was not successful, he worked for the Oregon Short Line Railroad in Salt Lake City. He left that job in 1904.
Later Life and Writing Career
By 1911, Burroughs had worked for seven years selling pencil sharpeners. He had a lot of free time and started reading pulp-fiction magazines. This inspired him to start writing his own stories. By this time, he and Emma had two children, Joan and Hulbert. Their third child, John Coleman Burroughs, was born in 1913. John later became known for drawing pictures for his father's books.
In the 1920s, Burroughs learned to fly planes. He even bought his own plane and encouraged his family to learn to fly too. His daughter, Joan, married James Pierce, who played Tarzan in movies. Joan also voiced Jane in the Tarzan radio series from 1932 to 1934.
Burroughs and Emma divorced in 1934. In 1935, he married Florence Gilbert Dearholt, an actress. They divorced in 1942.
During World War II, Burroughs was in his late 60s and living in Honolulu. When the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor happened, he became a war correspondent. He was one of the oldest U.S. war correspondents during the war.
After the war, Burroughs moved back to Encino, California. He had many health problems and died of a heart attack on March 19, 1950. He had written almost 80 novels. He is buried in Tarzana, California. At the time of his death, he had earned over $2 million from his Tarzan films. This made him one of the highest-earning writers from movies. In 2003, Burroughs was added to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
His Amazing Stories
How He Started Writing
Burroughs wrote for pulp magazines. His first story, Under the Moons of Mars, was published in parts from February to July 1912. This story started the Barsoom series. Burroughs earned $400 for it, which was a lot of money back then! This story was later published as a book called A Princess of Mars in 1917.
Burroughs soon became a full-time writer. By the time Under the Moons of Mars was finished, he had written two more novels. One of them was Tarzan of the Apes, which became one of his most famous series.
Popular Series and Characters
Burroughs wrote many popular science fiction and fantasy stories. He often wrote about adventurers from Earth who traveled to other planets. These included Barsoom (his name for Mars) and Amtor (his name for Venus). He also wrote about lost islands like Caspak and journeys into the center of the Hollow Earth in his Pellucidar stories. He also wrote Westerns and historical adventure novels. Many of his stories appeared in magazines like The All-Story and The Argosy.
Tarzan became a huge hit right away. Burroughs wanted to make the most of Tarzan's popularity. He planned to use Tarzan in many ways, like comic strips, movies, and merchandise. Some experts thought this was a bad idea, saying the different types of media would compete. But Burroughs went ahead and proved them wrong! People loved Tarzan in every form he was offered. Tarzan is still a cultural icon today.
Tarzana, California
In 1915 or 1919, Burroughs bought a large ranch north of Los Angeles, California. He named it "Tarzana." In 1927, the people living around the ranch voted to name their community Tarzana, California. There is also a small town called Tarzan, Texas, named in 1927. This name came from the popularity of the first silent Tarzan of the Apes movie and early Tarzan comic strips.
In 1923, Burroughs started his own company, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.. He began printing his own books through the 1930s.
Selected Books
The Barsoom Series (Mars)
- A Princess of Mars (1912)
- The Gods of Mars (1913)
- The Warlord of Mars (1914)
- Thuvia, Maid of Mars (1916)
- The Chessmen of Mars (1922)
- The Master Mind of Mars (1927)
- A Fighting Man of Mars (1930)
- Swords of Mars (1934)
- Synthetic Men of Mars (1939)
- Llana of Gathol (1941)
- John Carter of Mars (1964)
The Tarzan Series
- Tarzan of the Apes (1912)
- The Return of Tarzan (1913)
- The Beasts of Tarzan (1914)
- The Son of Tarzan (1915)
- Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916)
- Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1916–1917)
- Tarzan the Untamed (1919)
- Tarzan the Terrible (1921)
- Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1922)
- Tarzan and the Ant Men (1924)
- Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1927)
- Tarzan and the Lost Empire (1928)
- Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1929)
- Tarzan the Invincible (1930)
- Tarzan Triumphant (1931)
- Tarzan and the City of Gold (1932)
- Tarzan and the Lion Man (1933)
- Tarzan and the Leopard Men (1932)
- Tarzan's Quest (1935)
- Tarzan the Magnificent (1936)
- Tarzan and the Forbidden City (1938)
- Tarzan and the Foreign Legion (1947)
- Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins (1963)
- Tarzan and the Madman (1964)
- Tarzan and the Castaways (1965)
- Tarzan: The Lost Adventure (1995)
The Pellucidar Series (Hollow Earth)
- At the Earth's Core (1914)
- Pellucidar (1915)
- Tanar of Pellucidar (1929)
- Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1929)
- Back to the Stone Age (1937)
- Land of Terror (1944)
- Savage Pellucidar (1963)
The Venus Series
- Pirates of Venus (1932)
- Lost on Venus (1933)
- Carson of Venus (1938)
- Escape on Venus (1946)
- The Wizard of Venus (1970)
The Caspak Series
- The Land That Time Forgot (1918)
- The People That Time Forgot (1918)
- Out of Time's Abyss (1918)
Other Notable Works
- The Moon Maid (1923)
- The Mucker (1914)
- The Return of the Mucker (1916)
- The Oakdale Affair (1918)
- The Monster Men (1913)
- The Lost Continent (1916)
- The Cave Girl (1913)
- The Eternal Lover (1914)
- Jungle Girl (1931)
- The Bandit of Hell's Bend (1924)
- The War Chief (1927)
- Apache Devil (1933)
- The Outlaw of Torn (1914)
Images for kids
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Burroughs's bookplate, showing Tarzan holding the planet Mars, surrounded by other characters from his stories and symbols relating to his personal interests and career
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A letter from Burroughs explaining the design of his bookplate
See also
In Spanish: Edgar Rice Burroughs para niños
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
- Mars in fiction
- Sword and planet
