William Sidney Porter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862 He was a voracious reader as a child reading anything and everything from classics to cheap dime store novels. As a young man his writing and drawings had caught the attention of the editor at the Houston Post moving there with his family in 1895. Porter gathered ideas for his column by loitering in hotel lobbies and observing and talking to people there. He was considered unfortunate to have been jailed for embezzlement of funds from a bank he had worked at some time before. However whilst in prison he had fourteen stories published under various pseudonyms, but was becoming best known as "O. Henry." Porter was released in July 1901, for good behavior after serving three years. Porter's most prolific writing period began in 1902, in New York City. While there, he wrote 381 short stories. His wit, characterization, and plot twists were loved by his readers but panned by critics. He died on June 5, 1910, of cirrhosis of the liver, complications of diabetes, and an enlarged heart. After funeral services in New York City, he was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina.