Gelett Burgess

Writer

Born

January 30, 1866 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Died

September 17, 1951

Birth name

Frank Gelett Burgess

Boston-born (1866) humorist Gelett Burgess graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1887, and secured employment as a draftsman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Three years later he became an instructor in topographical drawing at the University of California. In 1894, however, he made an almost complete 180-degree change from the staid, stable work of drafting and technical drawing to become editor of the humor magazine "Wave" and the next year he became editor of "Lark", a quirky, edgy (for the times) humor magazine. It was there that his famous quatrain--often wrongly attributed to Ogden Nash--"The Purple Cows" appeared: "I never saw a purple cow / I never hope to see one / But I can tell you anyhow / I'd rather see than be one". The magazine also featured his drawings of bizarre, badly behaving creatures called "Goops", which caught on with the public. He wrote a series of books filled with his humorous observations on life in general and the battle of the sexes. He died in Carmel, California, on September 18, 1951.