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 D. Porter rank of commodore, Porter was assigned to duty at New York. There, he served in various capacities until hospitalized in April 1864. On 1 May 1864, Commodore Porter died of heart disease at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City, New York. Although he was buried initially at Greenwood Cemetery in New York, he was moved to The Woodlands, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June and laid to rest beside his famous father, Commodore David Porter. In 1942, the destroyer was named in his honor. William D. Porter William David Porter (10 March 1808 – 1 May 1864) was a flag officer