James Thurber
Overview
 
James Grover Thurber was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...

 and celebrated wit
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...

. Thurber was best known for his cartoons
Gag cartoon
A gag cartoon is most often a single-panel cartoon, usually including a hand-lettered or typeset caption beneath the drawing. A pantomime cartoon carries no caption...

 and short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

 magazine.
Thurber was born in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, to Charles L. Thurber and Mary Agnes (Mame) Fisher Thurber on December 8, 1894. Both of his parents greatly influenced his work. His father, a sporadically employed clerk and minor politician who dreamed of being a lawyer or an actor, is said to have been the inspiration for the small, timid protagonist typical of many of his stories.
Quotations

Le coeur a ses raisons, Mrs. Bence, que la raison ne connait pas.

Cartoon caption, The New Yorker (27 July 1935)

Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?

Cartoon caption, The New Yorker (5 June 1937); "Word Dance--Part One", A Thurber Carnival (1960)

I love the idea of there being two sexes, don't you?

Cartoon caption, The New Yorker (22 April 1939); "A Miscellany", Alarms and Diversions (1957)

He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes.

Cartoon caption, The New Yorker (4 November 1939). Parody of "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like."

Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act.

Lanterns and Lances‎ (1961), p. 44

There are two kinds of light — the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures.

Lanterns and Lances‎ (1961), p. 146; also misquoted as "There are two kinds of light — the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures."

A burden in the bush is worth two on your hands.

"The Hunter and the Elephant", The New Yorker (18 February 1939)

It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all the answers.

"The Scotty Who Knew Too Much", The New Yorker (18 February 1939)

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else.

"The Fairly Intelligent Fly", The New Yorker (4 February 1939); Fables for Our Time & Famous Poems Illustrated (1940)

Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.

"The Shrike and the Chipmunks", The New Yorker (18 February 1939); Fables for Our Time & Famous Poems Illustrated (1940). Because it is derived from Benjamin Franklin's famous saying this is often misquoted as: Early to rise and early to bed makes a man healthy, wealthy, and dead.

 
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