Edward Lytton Wheeler

His stories of the west mixed fictional characters with real-life personalities of the era, including Calamity Jane and Sitting Bull.

He created the seminal character of Deadwood Dick, during a period when the country was fascinated by the Black Hills region of the American west after Custer’s defeat at Little Bighorn.

He originally created Deadwood Dick as a character for his theater troupe, and later made him the focus of a dime novel series.

He created around one hundred novels, of which 33 featured Deadwood Dick, and of these, Calamity Jane—a real-life wild west entertainer—appeared as a character in nearly half.

He also wrote story series with a number of other characters including Rosebud Bob, Sierra Sam, Kangaroo Kit, Yreka Jim, Denver Doll, and Lady Kate.