born April 17, 1897, Madison, Wis., U.S.
died Dec. 7, 1975, Hamden, Conn.
U.S. playwright and novelist.
After attending Yale University, Wilder studied archaeology in Rome. He earned wide acclaim for his second novel, The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927, Pulitzer Prize). His play Our Town (1938, Pulitzer Prize), which became one of the most enduringly popular of all American plays, was followed by the successful The Skin of Our Teeth (1942, Pulitzer Prize). In them he rejected naturalism, often discarding props and scenery, using deliberate anachronisms, and having the characters address the audience directly. His farcical play The Matchmaker (1954) was adapted into the musical Hello, Dolly! (1964). Wilder's later novels include The Eighth Day (1967) and Theophilus North (1973).