Famous Authors and Artists
With Red Hair

--- FAMOUS AUTHORS ---

	Samuel L. Clemens whose pen name was Mark Twain. (1835-1910) Known as one of America’s most famous authors and humorists. His famous novels included ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ and ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’. He was well known and a friend to artists, presidents, and others. Not shy about his quotes about redheads. Actress Billie Burke, a friend of his, recalls Clemens telling her "Billie, we redheads have to stick together."
	Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) A prolific American poet from Massachusetts who lived a very reclusive life and finally later in life refused to even leave her home. Most of her almost 1800 poems were published after her death, written in an unconventional style for that era. Thomas Wentworth Higginson was an acquaintance who visited her and described her as "a little plain woman with two smooth bands of reddish hair ... in a very plain & exquisitely clean white pique and a blue net worsted shawl."(from book by Alfred Habegger, 2001, 'My Wars Are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson'). (Read Emily's description of herself on my "Celebrity Quotes" page.)
	Simon James Heffer (born 1960) Prominent British writer, columnist, and journalist with several newspapers. Known for his conservative political views. Wonderful red hair.
	George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). An Irish author and playwright. Born in Dublin, Ireland, and later moved to London. He won the Nobel Prize in 1925 for literature. Most photos are black and white. However, a colored sketch by Max Beerbohm showed red hair and beard as well as a publication of 'Vanity Fair Supplement' of a colored print regarding the 'Men of the Day, No.1292', that shows his brilliant orange hair, beard, and mustache while wearing a cowboy hat and colorful long coat!
	William Shakespeare (1464-1616). An English playwright and poet, often nicknamed ‘The Bard’ or ‘Bard of Avon’. He was born and raised in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. His plays have been translated into every major language and performed more than any other playwright. Often referred to as the greatest writer of the English language, one of the world’s most famous authors. He's been rumored to be a redhead but can't confirm it. There are several portraits (like this 'Cobbe portrait', however, showing a definitely reddish beard. Still inconclusive but included here anyway.
	Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) This American novelist, playwright, social critic, and short-story writer was the 1st writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1930). He grew up in Minnesota and, due to his bad skin and bright red hair, he was teased terribly early in life. He started to write and keep a diary, later writing numerous novels and several plays with insightful yet critical views of American society. TCM.com reports nicknames were "Hal" or "Red." This famous author appears on a US 14-cent postage stamp, issued in 1985. (Thanks to Ken!)

--- FAMOUS ARTISTS ---

Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890). Born in the Netherlands, was a Dutch Post-impressionist artist whose paintings are some of the world’s most popular, full of color and movement. He struggled with bouts of depression and yet produced some of his best-known paintings during his final years. His famous self-portrait here vividly shows his bright red/orange hair color.

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