Owen Wister was an American novelist and short story writer best known for his novel The Virginian, which helped to establish the western genre in American literature. He was born in 1860 in Germantown, Pennsylvania and died in 1938 in Wyoming. Wister wrote several other novels, including Lady Baltimore and The Dragon of Wantley, as well as numerous short stories. He is remembered as one of the most influential writers of the early 20th century.