Charles Farrar Browne


 * See also Artemas Ward (disambiguation)

Charles Farrar Browne, (April 23, 1834 - March 6, 1867) was a United States humorous writer, best known under his nom de plume of Artemus Ward. At birth, his surname was "Brown", he added the "e" after he became famous.

Browne was born in Waterford, Maine. He began life as a compositor and occasional contributor to the daily and weekly journals. In 1858 he published in the Cleveland Plaindealer the first of the "Artemus Ward" series, which in a collected form achieved great popularity in both America and England. In 1860 he became editor of Vanity Fair magazine, a humorous New York weekly, which proved a failure. About the same time he began to appear as a lecturer, and by his droll and eccentric humour attracted large audiences.

"Artemus Ward" was the favorite author of US President Abraham Lincoln. Before presenting "The Emancipation Proclamation" to his Cabinet, Lincoln read to them the latest episode, "Outrage in Utiky", also known as High-Handed Outrage at Utica.

Ward is also said to have inspired Mark Twain, after Ward performed in Virginia City, Nevada. Legend has it that following Ward's stage performance, Ward, Mark Twain, and Dan De Quille were taking a drunken rooftop tour of Virginia City, until a town constable threatened to blast all three of them with a shotgun loaded with rock salt.

In 1866 Ward visited England, where he became exceedingly popular both as a lecturer and as a contributor to Punch magazine. In the spring of the following year his health gave way and he died of tuberculosis at Southampton on March 6, 1867.

Stories

 * A Visit to Brigham Young
 * Women's Rights
 * One of Mr Ward's Business Letters
 * On "Forts"
 * Forth of July Oration
 * High-Handed Outrage at Utica
 * Artemus Ward and the Prince of Wales
 * Interview with Lincoln
 * Letters to his Wife

Nota Bene
In Washington DC, there is a statue of Artemas Ward, not Artemus Ward, that watches over the traffic of Ward Circle at the intersection of Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues (beside American University). Artemas Ward was the a Major General of the Continental Army and later a member of the Continental, Second, and Third Congresses.

Artemus Ward IV (May 21, 1971-), not Charles Farrar Browne, is a political scientist at Northern Illinois University who specializes in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1999, he received his Ph.D from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He has worked as a staffer on the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC and has published books on the retirement decisions of the justices (Deciding to Leave) and Supreme Court law clerks (Sorcerers' Apprentices). Though Ward is not "related" to Browne, his great grandfather was named after Browne's pseudonym.

In the early 1980s, Maine historian Herb Adams portrayed Charles Farrar Browne/ Artemus Ward. Adams wrote and starred in a 2-hour monologue that outlined Ward's life and humor style of writing and lecturing. Adams' several performances of his show took place inside the Artemus Ward House located in Waterford, Maine.