born May 15, 1856, Chittenango, N.Y., U.S.
died May 6, 1919, Hollywood, Calif.
U.S. writer of children's books.
Baum achieved commercial success with his first book, Father Goose (1899), and followed it the next year with the even more popular Wonderful Wizard of Oz . He wrote 13 more Oz books, which acquired a huge readership. The series was continued by Ruth Plumly Thompson after his death.