The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-04-12
Noted Author and War Cor
respondent Stricken with
Heart Disease
BODY WAS FOUND
EARLY THIS MORNING
Death Came While He Was at Tele-
phone in His Home-one of the Most
Prolific and Popular Story Writers in
America

pnone in His Home-One of the Most
Prolific and Popular Story Writers in
America.
MOUNT KISCO, y. Y, April p
Richard Harding Davis died at his
home here last night from heart troub-
lie. His body was found early this
morning and he had apparently been
stricken while at his telephone.
Mr.. Davis was widely known as .
novelist, playwright and war cores
pondent, but he was perhaps at his
best as a short story writer, having al
most no equal in contemporaneous
work in this respect aside from the
late o. Henry
Mr.. Davis came naturally by his lit
erary talents. His father was L.
Clark Davis, for many years editor OF
the Philadelphia Ledger when that
paper, under the ownership of the late
George w. Childs, was rated as one of
the highest standards of journalism in
the country His mother was the IA
nous Rebecca Harding Davis, author
His younger brother, Charles Belmont
/ Davis, has also made his mark as
writer of stories
| Mr.. Davis was born IN Philadelphia
April IS, 1864, and was educated at
Lehigh and Johns Hopkins universities
From college we went to work as re-
porter on the Philadelphia Record, and
later was connected with the Press and
Telegraph of his native citv, going to
England as correspondent of the latter
paper He next joined the staff Of
the New York Sun, where he made a
departure which won him distinction
for fnesse and originality He made
the acquaintance Of famous crooks and
criminals and wrote the stories of
their careers with such faithfulness
that they were driven ont of bust
ness.
In his early newspaper career his re-
ports of the Johnstown flood and the
coronation of the Gar were regarded
as brilliant strokes of reporting. His
short stories made n great hit from the
start and he soon gave up his newspa
per work to devote his time entirely
to literary efforts but he turned aside
for this career at times, acting as waI
correspondent in the Spanish Ameri-
can South African, Russo japanese and
the present great European war. He
had been abroad twice visiting battle
fields in the past year and-a half.
Among his welI-known writings are
Soldiers of Fortune, 1899; Gallagher
and Other Stories; The Princess Aiine;
Our English Cousins; Van Bibber and
Others: About Paris; The Rulers OF
the Mediterranean; Three Gringos in
IVenezuela; Cuba III War Time, 1898;
7 a Year for a Correspondent s Note
Book, 1898; Stories for Boys, Cuban
and Porto Rican Campaigns, 1898;
: Cinderella and Other Stories; DR.. Jane
son s Raiders; Exiles; The King $
lJackall. lS3S: The Lion and the Uni
leorn. 1899; The West from a Car Win
dow; Episodes in Van Bibber s Life,
: 1899: With Both Armies in South At
4 rica. 1900; In the Fog, 1901; Ransom 5
: Folly, 1902; Captain Macklin, 1902;
4 The Bar Sinister, 1904; Real Soldiers
{. of Fortune. 1907 The Scarlet Car; The
5 Congo and Coasts OF Africa; Vera, the
: Medium: The White Mice; Once Upon a
= Time. 1910; The Man who Could Not
: Lose. 1911: The Red Cross Girl, 1912
e The Lost Road, 1913. Among his sue
). ecagful plays were: Tanning of Helen
e Ranson's Folly; The Dictator; Th'
n Yankee Tourist; Who's Who.
e Mr.. Davis married at Marion, Mass.
Y April 4. 1899. Miss Cecil Clark, dangh
ter of Mr.. and Mrs. j. NJ Clark of Chi
g cago. They lived together happily sev
: eral years before they separated. Mrs
n Davis secured a divorce in July, 1912
n on a charge OF desertion. Later Mr.
G Davis married Bessie Mccoy, an actress
n All of Mr.. Davis s writings we're char
2, acterized by spirited animation and ;
V wealth of incident He had an imagina
f tive side to his mentality, a romanti'
strain. and wrote with charm and in
terest that compelled the attention o.
his readers.