Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-05-11
VIM DEAN HOWELLS DEAD,
WAS DEAN OF NOVEL|STS
Passes Away at SO After Long
and Brilliant Literary Career;
Was Regarded as the Bal
zac of America.
BY Associated Press to Every Evening

BY Associated Press to Every Evening
New York. May 1l-William Dean
Howells. the novelist. died here today.
MIR. Howells returned few weeks ago
from Savannah. where he had spent the
winter. While in the south MIR. Howells
was stricken with influenza and never
had fully recovered from its effect.
Because Of the strong, vital realism Of
his writings. Mr. Howells was often re-
ferrcd to. in literary circles. as the Bal
zac' of American novelists.
With Mr. Howells at the time Of his
death. which occurred shortly after mid
night were his daughter, Mildred, and
his son. William Mead, both OF this city.
Besides them he Is survived by two sis
tiers. Mrs Achille Frechette. translator
for the Canadian public office commits
sioner. and Miss Howells also of Ottawa,
and q brother, ;. ID. Howells, OF Wash
ington.
Funeral services will be held at the
Church of the Ascension here tomorrow
morning Burial viii be IN Cambridge,
Mass.
At dinner given IN New York in 1912
10 10 honor to William Dean Howells
upon his 18th birthday, William Howard
TAFT, then president Of the United States,
lauded the guest as the greatest living
American writer and novelist
He was the dean Of American letters;
poet, essayist, dramatlst and editor, as
we'll IS weaver OF fiction.
Beginning hls first book. Poems of
! Two Friends, Just before the Civil War.
Mr. Howels had completed and published
Il volumes at the time OF his birthday
anniversary, besides acting as editor OF
various publications, crossing the ocean
: tunes IN search Of material for his
novels, and writing ESSAYS, criticisms and
! magazine articles
Born in Martins Ferry. Ohio, IN 1887.
he served his literary apprenticeship as a
, composltof, reporter and edltur on his
fathers newspaper
"Inwardlv | was poet SAID the emf
. nent novelist in reviewing his early ex-
/ perIeDces with no wish 10 be anything
else unless IN "A moment ot careless
affluence ] might SD lar forget myself as
TO be novelist
When 23 wears old he travelled to Boston
10 make the acquaintance Of Longfcllow
Hawthorne. Emerson. Holmes and Lowell
| Though bov among masters, he became
| their intimate, learning their literary ira
| ditions and preserving many Of them
| throughout his long life.
At the age Of "a he was appointed BY
| President Lincoln as United States Consul
/ at Venice He combined his consular
/ duties with literary work and produced
/ his celebrated book. .Nenetian Life
! Four years later. IN 1865, he moved 10
! New York with his wife. Who was Elinor
| @ Mead of Vermont and whom he mar
ried in Paris in 1862. For two years he
wrote editorials for the New York Nation,
the Times and the Tribune, aud then
moved to Boston, where as assistant
editor he began his association with the
Atlantic Monthly, succeeding James Rus
sell Lowell as editor in 1872. At the age
Of a he retired to devote himself to his
novels, which he prod uced for many
wears al the rate of two year
When so wears old, Mr. HoWell5 found
| time to become contributing editor and
later write for the Editor Easy Char
department in Harper's Magazine Foi
q bref period he acted as editor OF the
| Cosmopolitan.