Wilder, Thornton

Wilder, Thornton (Niven)

(1897–1975) novelist, playwright; born in Madison, Wis. Raised in China where his father was with the U.S. consular service, he graduated from Yale, took an M.A. from Princeton, then taught English at the Lawrenceville School and University of Chicago (1930–37), until he could afford to be a full-time writer. He wrote several novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927). But he is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, Our Town (1938), a story of small-town life, and The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), an allegory about humankind's close calls. The Matchmaker (1954) was reincarnated as the hit musical Hello, Dolly! in 1964.