  newton booth tarkington (july 29, 1869 â may 19, 1946) was an american novelist and dramatist best known for his novels the magnificent ambersons and alice adams. he is, with william faulkner and john updike, one of only three novelists to win the pulitzer prize for fiction more than once. ==biography== booth tarkington was born in indianapolis, indiana, the son of john s. tarkington and elizabeth booth tarkington. he was named after his maternal uncle, newton booth, then the governor of california. tarkington was also related to chicago mayor james hutchinson woodworth through his wife almyra booth woodworth. tarkington first attended shortridge high school in indianapolis, but completed his secondary education at phillips exeter academy, a boarding school on the east coast. tarkington attended purdue university for two years, where he was a member of the sigma chi fraternity and the university's morley eating club. tarkington later made substantial donations to purdue for the building of an all-men's residence hall, which the university named tarkington hall, in his honor. purdue awarded him an honorary doctorate. ==="tark" at princeton=== when some of his family's wealth returned after the panic of 1873 his mother transferred booth from purdue to princeton university. at princeton, tarkington is said to have been known among his fellow eating club members as "tark". he was active as a student-actor and served as president of princeton's dramatic association, which later became the triangle club. according to triangle's official history, tarkington made his first acting appearance in the club's shakespearean spoof katherine. this was one of the first three productions in the triangle's history that was written and produced by princeton students. this triangle tradition that tarkington established for productions of students' plays remains to the present day.{{cite web|url=http://www.triangleshow.com/|title=triangleshow|p
1869_births 1946_deaths 19th-century_American_novelists 20th-century_American_dramatists_and_playwrights 20th-century_American_novelists American_male_novelists Booth_Tarkington Burials_at_Crown_Hill_Cemetery Indiana_University_people People_from_Indianapolis,_Indiana Phillips_Exeter_Academy_alumni Princeton_University_alumni Pulitzer_Prize_for_the_Novel_winners Purdue_University_alumni Writers_from_Indiana