The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories Lesson Plan

O. Henry was born William Sidney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1862. After receiving an education from his aunt and working at his uncle’s drug store, he became a licensed pharmacist at age 19. A year later, in 1882, Porter moved to a ranch in Texas with the intention of improving his health. There he worked as a shepherd and ranch hand before finding a job as a pharmacist in Austin and writing on the side. In Austin, he met and eloped with Athol Estes, who gave birth to their daughter Margaret Worth Porter in 1889. He then worked for the Texas Land Commissioner, and as a teller and bookkeeper at the First National Bank of Austin while also operating a weekly humor magazine...