American author O. Henry is renowned for his short stories' humour, wordplay, and deft twisted endings. He produced around 600 short tales on American life. William Sidney Porter was his name; he was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on September 11, 1862. Algernon Sidney Porter, his father, was a physician. William's mother passed away when he was three, and his grandmother and aunt raised him. At the age of 15, he dropped out of school and worked many jobs, including bank clerk.