Nye, Bill, 1850-1896

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Nye was a distinguished American journalist, who later became widely known as a humorist. He was also the founder and editor of the Laramie Boomerang.

From the description of Bill Nye newspaper articles, 1890-1898, 1935-1971. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 26729751

American humorist, journalist and lecturer.

From the description of Letters from Bill Nye to Major Pond, 1885-1896. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 19020021

Author and humorist. Full name: Edgar Wilson Nye.

From the description of Bill Nye papers, 1882-1902. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70983746

Western humorist who spent his last years in North Carolina.

From the description of Documentary proof of self-defense, undated. WorldCat record id: 24201809

American humorist.

From the description of Letter : Hudson, Wis., to an unidentified correspondent, 1886 June 8 [manuscript]. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647833955

From the description of Papers of Bill Nye [manuscript], 1870-1900, bulk 1870-1895. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647812214

From the description of Bill Nye letter to L. Herbert Jenkins [manuscript], 1886 November 9. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 781301259

Bill Nye was a Western humorist who spent his last years in North Carolina.

From the guide to the Bill Nye's Documentary Proof of Self-Defense, undated, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)

Edgar Wilson Nye was the founder and first editor of the Laramie Boomerang, a newspaper reputedly named after Nye’s mule. His humorous columns for the paper achieved national recognition, and he went on to become a nationally-known lecturer and author under the pen name Bill Nye. He was born in Shirley, Maine, on August 25, 1850, and came to Laramie, Wyoming, in 1876. He was initially employed by J.H. Hayford on the Laramie Sentinel but supplemented his income by writing for other papers as well, including the Denver Tribune, where he came to the attention of Eugene Field. In 1877 he married Fannie Smith and in 1881 began publication of the Boomerang . The newspaper was successful, and Nye soon began to publish books based on his humorous observations. Nye, however, became ill and sold his Laramie interests in 1883. He returned to his former home in Wisconsin where he continued to write. He later settled in North Carolina. He traveled widely in the 1880s and 1890s as a lecturer, often in partnership with James Whitcomb Riley, under the management of James B. Pond. His health, however, remained poor, and he died in 1896 at the age of forty-six.

From the guide to the Bill Nye papers, 1878-circa 1973, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn William J. Arkell Collection, 1881-1894 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Bill Nye letter to L. Herbert Jenkins [manuscript], 1886 November 9. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Adams, James Truslow, 1878-1949. Barrett assorted authors collection, 1814-1947 University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Papers of Bill Nye [manuscript], 1870-1900, bulk 1870-1895. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916. Miscellaneous uncataloged materials, 1883-1948 Indiana University
referencedIn Houghton Library. Houghton Library printed book provenance file, L-Q. 1942. Houghton Library
referencedIn Samuel Langhorne Clemens collection of papers, 1856-1938, 1870-1938 The New York Public Library. Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Autograph of Bill Nye, 1886. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Marshall P. Wilder Papers, 1880-1914 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Bill Nye papers, 1882-1902. Library of Congress
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Inscription on page from autograph album : San Francisco : ms. S, 1893 Feb. 22. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Letters from Bill Nye to Major Pond, 1885-1896. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn Porter, Robert P. Mrs. Letters, 1893, 1902, 1905. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916. Letter, 1888 Nov. 27 (Columbia, S.C.), to Major James Burton Pond. University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries
referencedIn Darden family. Darden family papers, 1832-1944. Tennessee State Library & Archives, TSLA
creatorOf Murray, W. H. H. (William Henry Harrison), 1840-1904. Papers of W.H.H. Murray, 1887-1889. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Stone, Melville Elijah, 1848-1929. Melville E. Stone papers, 1815-1954, bulk 1890-1929. Newberry Library
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. The autobiography of a Justice of the Peace. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Bill Nye's Documentary Proof of Self-Defense, undated University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Letter, 1890. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Bill Nye newspaper articles, 1890-1898, 1935-1971. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Kirkland, C. D. (Charles D.), 1851-1926,. C.D. Kirkland photographs of the West, circa 1880s-1890s. Harold B. Lee Library
creatorOf Bill Nye papers, 1878-circa 1973 Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916. Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Riley Collection, 1835-1960. Indiana Historical Society Library
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Letter to [?] Gilder. Texarkana, AK. 1891 Nov. 24. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn James Whitcomb Riley Papers, 1883-1915 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Edgar Wilson Nye letter to W. G. Steel [manuscript], 1889 April 1. Oregon Historical Society Research Library
referencedIn Charles Follen Adams papers, 1857-1917. Houghton Library
referencedIn University of Wisconsin. University Extension Division. Dept. of Debating and Public Discussion. Biographical sketches of Bill Nye, Henry Schoenfeld, and Edgar Stillman Kelley, 1915. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905. Papers of Fitzhugh Lee [manuscript], 1731-1952. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Autograph File, N, 1686-1975. Houghton Library
creatorOf Nye, Frank Mellen, 1852-1935. Frank M. Nye and family papers, 1881-1936. Minnesota Historical Society Library
referencedIn Randall, James Ryder, 1839-1908. Papers of James Ryder Randall [manuscript], 1855-1907, n.d. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Letter : Hudson, Wis., to an unidentified correspondent, 1886 June 8 [manuscript]. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910. Samuel Langhorne Clemens collection of papers, 1856-1938 bulk (1870-1938). New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Nye, Bill, 1850-1896. Documentary proof of self-defense, undated. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
correspondedWith Adams, Charles Follen, 1842-1918 person
associatedWith Arkell, W. J. (William J.), 1856-1930 person
associatedWith Brown, B. G., fl. 1895, person
associatedWith Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William), 1865-1933 person
associatedWith Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910. person
associatedWith Clemens, William Montgomery, 1860-1931, person
associatedWith Clements, John R., fl. 1890, person
associatedWith Daily Boomerang (Laramie, Wyo. : 1881). corporateBody
associatedWith Darden family. family
associatedWith Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881. person
associatedWith Gilder, Richard Watson, 1844-1909. person
associatedWith Grabhorn, Edwin E. person
associatedWith Greenwood, Grace, 1823-1904, person
associatedWith Hatton, Frank, 1846-1894, person
associatedWith Houghton Library. person
associatedWith Jenkins, L. Herbert. person
associatedWith Kirkland, C. D. (Charles D.), 1851-1926, person
associatedWith Koundakjian, Theodore H. person
associatedWith Koundjakjian, Theodore H. person
associatedWith Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905. person
associatedWith Matthews, James Newton, 1852-1910, person
associatedWith McClure, S. S. (Samuel Sidney), 1857-1949. person
associatedWith McDougall, Walter Hugh, 1858-1938, person
associatedWith McFarling, Lloyd. Bibliography and works of Bill Nye. person
associatedWith Meare, Leon, person
associatedWith Murray, W. H. H. (William Henry Harrison), 1840-1904. person
associatedWith Nye, Frank Mellen, 1852-1935. person
associatedWith Oregon Alpine Club. corporateBody
correspondedWith Pond, James B. (James Burton), 1838-1903 person
associatedWith Porter, Robert P. Mrs. person
associatedWith Randall, James Ryder, 1839-1908. person
correspondedWith Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916 person
associatedWith Smillie, May. person
correspondedWith Steel, W. G. (William Gladstone) person
associatedWith Stone, Melville Elijah, 1848-1929. person
associatedWith Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. person
associatedWith University of Wisconsin. University Extension Division. Dept. of Debating and Public Discussion. corporateBody
associatedWith Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883. person
correspondedWith Wilder, Marshall P. (Marshall Pinckney), 1859-1915. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Laramie (Wyo.)
United States
United States
Wyoming
Subject
American wit and humor
American wit and humor
Authors
Authors
Authors and publishers
Autographs
Copyright
Lectures and lecturing
Lyceums
Newspaper publishing
Self-defense (Law)
Syndicates (Journalism)
Occupation
Authors
Humorists
Humorists, American
Journalists
Activity

Person

Birth 1850-08-25

Death 1896-02-22

Information

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SNAC ID: 75055038