John Kendrick Bangs

John Kendrick Bangs (1862–1922) was an American author, humorist, satirist, and editor known for popular light fiction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Yonkers, New York, he attended Columbia University. Bangs wrote widely for magazines and became associated with comic fantasy, especially stories set in the afterlife; his novel *The House-Boat on the Styx* (1895) helped define what later came to be called “Bangsian fantasy.” He also produced essays, short stories, and novels marked by wit and social observation. Bangs served as editor of *Harper’s Weekly* and remained a prominent figure in American humor writing.