O. Henry was born as William Sidney (changed to Sydney in 1898) Porter on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. After his mother died, Porter was raised by his paternal grandmother and his paternal aunt, who helped develop the young author's passion for reading and writing in her private school. Nevertheless, Porter dropped out of school in 1877 at the age of fifteen to work as a pharmacist's assistant. Porter became a licensed pharmacist at nineteen. In 1882, Porter moved to Denison, Texas, where he worked as a ranch hand. This was the first of many locations and experiences that Porter would draw upon later in his short fiction. In 1884, Porter moved to Austin, where he worked as a bookkeeper and draftsman (1884-1891) and as a teller at the First National Bank (1891-1894). In 1887, Porter eloped with Athol Estes.

While working as a teller, Porter began to submit his writing...