Harry Neal Baum
- Mary Niles (m. 1910–19??)
Maud Gage
Frank Joslyn Baum (brother)
Roger S. Baum (grandnephew)
Harry Neal Baum (December 18, 1889 – June 7, 1967) was an American author and the third son of L. Frank Baum. His father dedicated his 1902 novel The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus to him.
Baum, who received a Ph.D. in medieval history, wrote a number of history books for children. He worked in several advertising companies and ghostwrote the 1917 novel Mary Louise Solves a Mystery to satisfy his ailing father's publishing obligations.
Early life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Harry_Neal_Baum_1890.jpg/220px-Harry_Neal_Baum_1890.jpg)
Raised in Chicago, Baum was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on December 18, 1889, to Maud Gage and L. Frank Baum.[1][2] The third son of L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,[3] he was named "Harry Neal Baum" to honor Harry Baum and Hattie and William Neal, L. Frank Baum's brother, sister, and brother-in-law, respectively.[2] His brothers were Frank Joslyn, Robert Stanton, and Kenneth Gage.[4]
Career
Baum received a Ph.D. in medieval history[5] and wrote three history books for children and articles about his father.[1][6] He coauthored with Olive Beaupré Miller the Book of History, a 1929 four-volume work published by The Bookhouse for Children. He served as a vice president of Burson-Marsteller.[1] He worked as an advertising manager at Fairbanks-Morse before being employed at Gebhardt & Brockson, a Chicago-based advertising company.[7]
The Wizard of Oz and personal life
L. Frank Baum dedicated his 1902 novel The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus to Harry.[8] Because of L. Frank Baum's deteriorating health in 1917, he was unable to fulfill his obligations to his publishers. Therefore, Harry ghostwrote the 1917 novel Mary Louise Solves a Mystery, which was part of The Bluebird Books series, mimicking his father's style.[9]
In 1944, Harry starred as President Woodrow Wilson in the play The Time to Come produced by the Little Theater of Western Springs. He stated that he considered acting to be only a hobby. He had seen the opening production of The Wizard of Oz, which had been written by his father.[8] Baum also served as the host of a number of annual meetings held by The International Wizard of Oz Club.[1] At the 1964 convention, he awarded a gold plaque, the annual club's annual Oz award, to its founder Justin Schiller who had established the club when he was thirteen years old.[10]
Baum married Mary Niles in 1910.[11] In 1942, he married Brenda Holter,[11] a pianist and composer who served as the president of Chicago's Musicians Club of Women.[1]
Baum retired to Bass Lake, Indiana, at which he managed the Wizard of Oz lodge.[1] Upon his death, on June 7, 1967, he was survived by his wife, Brenda. He was also survived by sons Richard and Henry and daughters Ann and Judith, as well as 11 grandchildren.[1]
References
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g "Services Set for H. N. Baum, Author's Son: Father Wrote Famous 'Wizard of Oz'" (PDF). Chicago Tribune. 1967-06-09. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
- ^ a b Schwartz 2009, p. 149
- ^ Abrams & Zimmer 2010, p. 44
- ^ Bohnett & Buzz 2001, p. 116
- ^ "Harry Neal Baum". The International Wizard of Oz Club. Archived from the original on 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ Rogers 2003, p. 181
- ^ "Harry N. Baum" (PDF). Chicago Tribune. 1947-02-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ a b Sweet, Oney Fred (1944-02-20). "Tells How Dad Wrote 'Wizard of Oz' Stories" (PDF). Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ^ Rogers 2003, p. 221
- ^ Cromie, Robert (1964-06-30). "Report on Convention of Ozites" (PDF). Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ a b Morena 2001, p. 179
- Bibliography
- Abrams, Dennis; Zimmer, Kyle (2010). L. Frank Baum. New York: Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60413-501-5.
- Bohnett, Brian J.; Brown, Buzz (2001). Them was the days!: Edgar Rice Burroughs and the History of the Michigan Military Academy. Holt, Michigan: Mad Kings Pub. ISBN 0-9712181-0-2.
- Morena, Gita Dorothy (2001). The Wisdom of Oz: Reflections of a Jungian Sandplay Therapist. Berkeley: Frog Books. ISBN 0-547-05510-2.
- Rogers, Katherine M. (2003). L. Frank Baum, Creator of Oz. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81297-5.
- Schwartz, Evan I. (2009). Finding Oz: how L. Frank Baum discovered the Great American story. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-547-05510-7.
External links
- Harry Neal Baum at The International Wizard of Oz Club
- v
- t
- e
- The Magical Monarch of Mo
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Dot and Tot of Merryland
- The Master Key
- The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
- The Enchanted Island of Yew
- The Marvelous Land of Oz
- Queen Zixi of Ix
- The Fate of a Crown
- The Woggle-Bug Book
- Annabel
- Aunt Jane's Nieces
- Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad
- Daughters of Destiny
- Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea
- The Twinkle Tales
- John Dough and the Cherub
- Ozma of Oz
- Policeman Bluejay
- The Last Egyptian
- Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
- Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville
- Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work
- The Road to Oz
- Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society
- The Emerald City of Oz
- Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John
- The Daring Twins
- The Flying Girl
- The Sea Fairies
- Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation
- Phoebe Daring
- Sky Island
- Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch
- The Patchwork Girl of Oz
- Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West
- Tik-Tok of Oz
- Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross
- The Scarecrow of Oz
- Mary Louise
- Rinkitink in Oz
- The Lost Princess of Oz
- The Tin Woodman of Oz
- The Magic of Oz
- Glinda of Oz
collections
collections
- By the Candelabra's Glare
- Father Goose: His Book
- The Maid of Arran
- The Wizard of Oz (1902)
- Prince Silverwings
- The Woggle-Bug
- The Tik-Tok Man of Oz
- The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
- The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914)
- The Magic Cloak of Oz
- His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz
- Violet's Dreams
- The Gray Nun of Belgium
and collaborators
- Maud Gage Baum (wife)
- Matilda Joslyn Gage (mother-in-law)
- Frank Joslyn Baum (son)
- Harry Neal Baum (son)
- Roger S. Baum (great-grandson)
- Jocelyn Burdick (niece)
- Paul Tietjens
- Edith Ogden Harrison
- Isidore Witmark
- Louis F. Gottschalk
- Nathaniel D. Mann
- Frederic Chapin
- Manuel Klein
- Arthur Pryor
- Byron Gay
- Emerson Hough
- William Wallace Denslow
- John R. Neill
- The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story (1990 film)