O. Henry O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. His stories are known for their surprise endings. William Sidney Porter was born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He changed the spelling of his middle name to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter (1825–88), a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter (1833–65). William's parents had married on April 20, 1858. When William was three, his mother died after birthing her third child, and he and his
William Wood Porter Porter moved back to Santa Rosa, California. He became seriously ill in the early 1900s but recovered partially. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake troubled him greatly and was listed as a contributing factor on his death certificate. Porter died in Santa Rosa on January 17, 1909. He was buried in Santa Rosa's Rural Cemetery. William Wood Porter William Wood Porter (September 8, 1826January 17, 1907) was an American military officer and jurist who served as Associate Justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court from 1885 until 1889. Porter was born September 8, 1826, in Orange County, Virginia. His parents were