Thomas Bailey Aldrich was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on November 11, 1836. When Aldrich was a child, his father moved to New Orleans. After 10 years, Aldrich was sent back to Portsmouth to get ready for college. This time in his life is talked about in his semi-autobiographical (written about a fictional character but partly about himself) story "The Story of a Bad Boy" (1870), in which "Tom Bailey" is the young hero.