Lyman Frank Baum, beloved author of the iconic American children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was born in Chittenango, New York on May 15th, 1856. His father was an oilman in Pennsylvania and the family was devoutly Methodist. Baum was a quiet and shy child who read copiously; he particularly liked fairy tales but adapted them so they were less frightening. When he was 12, he enrolled in military school but was removed after two years due to his lack of physical activity and discipline.
In 1869 his father gifted a printing press to Baum and his brother Henry. Baum created his own newspaper entitled Rose Lawn Home Journal, named after the family estate. Baum wrote all of the...
