System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Edgar Rice Burroughs
1875 - 1950
Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose name is synonymous with the fictional character he created, Tarzan of the Apes, died March 19, 1950. He was 74.
Burroughs was born September 1, 1875 in Chicago, Illinois. Born into a prominent family, he attended private schools, and became an instructor and assistant commander at Michigan Military Academy from 1895-96.
He also served in the 7th Cavalry for two years in the Arizona territory, and was an Illinois militiaman for two years. Following his military career, Burroughs owned a stationery business in Idaho and worked for a battery company in Chicago. He went from job to job for years before a writing career took him in a different direction.
Burroughs married Emma Centennia Hulbert in 1900. They had three children and divorced in 1934.
At age 35, Burroughs began writing for pulp fiction magazines, determined that he could write just as well as the material he read in those publications.
Soon he was writing science fiction stories. His first collection was Under the Moons of Mars in 1912. Others followed, including The Carson of Venus collection and a trilogy entitled The Land That Time Forgot.
But it was his Tarzan of the Apes novel in late 1912 that would bring Burroughs the most notoriety. Twenty-four more Tarzan books followed.
The popularity of the his books led to the establishment of the Edgar Rice Burroughs publishing house, and a movie company called Burroughs-Tarzan Pictures in 1934.
Burroughs' Tarzan was adapted to the screen in more than 25 movies. The most famous movie Tarzan was Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weissmuller who starred as Tarzan 13 times.
Burroughs was a prolific writer, and continued to pen other novels about other characters besides Tarzan. Some of his works include The Cave Girl, The War Chief, Apache Devil, and Beyond The Farthest Star.
Burroughs purchased a ranch in the San Fernando Valley, which later became a corporate entity called Tarzana. He was also elected mayor of California Beach, and served as a war correspondent in the South Pacific during World War II.
He died of a heart problem in Los Angeles on March 19, 1950.
