A doubt

[prasanthja]

Why did William Sydney Porter choose the particular name O Henry?

[jwb]

It appears that Porter was secretive about his choice of nom de plume. No definitive account appears in reference sources. Two quotes follow:


It is believed that Porter found his pen name while in jail, where one of the guards was named Orrin Henry. Other sources say that the name was derived from his calling "Oh Henry!" after the family cat, Henry. Guy Davenport wrote that the name was a condensation of "Ohio Penitentiary"
(Wikipedia)

"Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking," appeared in McClure's in 1899. This was also the first story he signed as "O. Henry," although he continued to use other pseudonyms such as Oliver Henry or S. H. Peters. The origin of the famous pen name is uncertain: various biographers have suggested that it was taken from the listing of French chemist Etienne-Ossian Henry in the United States Dispensatory, which Porter had used as a pharmacist; from the reply of a friend asked for a suitable first name--"Oh! I don't know"--or from the society column of a New Orleans newspaper. Whatever its derivation, Fred Abrams suggested in Studies in Short Fiction, "Porter's desire to adopt a pseudonym was undoubtably motivated by his desire to conceal the stigma of being a convict. His own vague explanations of the pseudonym in later years were a patent evasion of the truth."
(Contemporary Authors)

[blah9407]

Hey, I just registered to the forum. I am a highschool student that is researching William Sydney Porter or "O. Henry." I stumbled across your website in a hope of finding a place where i could find information on him. I despritly need information for this research paper. I would be very pleased with any information that you could send my way. My main email address is [email protected] . If you have any information of the following please send it to that email. 1. Factors that led to his writeing. 2. Influences on his writeing. 3. How writing affected his life. 4. Effects of time. 5. History.

[Rob Henerey]

Why did William Sydney Porter choose the particular name O Henry?

My father told the story that his uncle, a great brute of a man named Murdoch Henerey, was a colorful subject of myth-making in Honduras during his time with United Fruit there. Supposedly the Hondurans said he'd blocked up a volcano with a huge boulder. The story continues that William Sydney Porter in Honduras in 1896-97 made friends and housed with Murdoch, and was known, in the midst of a writing jag, to utter "oh, Henerey, bring me another drink will you?"

Or maybe it was a cigar, my memory fails. Of course if O Henry predates 1896 this is all rubbish.

[xiaofn]

Why did William Sydney Porter choose the particular name O Henry?

I'm glad to read discussions here. I'd like to know something about O Henry, especially his psudoname.

xiaofn