Stephen Leacock

Stephen Leacock (1869–1944) was a Canadian humorist, educator, and prolific author who became one of the most widely read English-language humor writers of the early twentieth century. Born in Swanmore, England, he moved to Canada as a child and grew up on a farm near Lake Simcoe, Ontario. After studying at the University of Toronto and the University of Chicago, he joined McGill University in Montreal, where he served as professor and later head of the department of political economy for over three decades.

Although a serious scholar, Leacock achieved lasting fame through comedy. His breakthrough came with Literary Lapses (1910), a collection of comic sketches, followed by Nonsense Novels (1911), parodies of popular literary genres. His masterpieces are Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912), an affectionate satire of small-town life inspired by Orillia, Ontario, and Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich (1914), which mocks urban wealth and pretension.

Leacock also wrote histories, biographies—including a study of Mark Twain—and works on economics, publishing more than sixty books in his lifetime. The annual Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, established in 1947, continues to honour his legacy as Canada's foremost comic writer.