Ambrose Bierce

Profession: Writer and Satirist

Nationality:

Biography: Ambrose Bierce was an American writer and soldier, having fought in the American Civil War. He is best known for his works The Devil's Dictionary (1911), An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1890), and Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891).

He was not only a writer of fiction but also one of the most influential journalists in the United States at the time. His horror writing has been compared to that of Edgar Allen Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, while his satire can be likened to that of Juvenal, Jonathan Swift, and Voltaire.

Bierce famously disappeared in 1913, with his last communication a letter that ended as follows: "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination." There are rumors in Mexican oral traditions that Bierce was executed by a firing squad in the town of Sierra Mojada.

Another of his letters had stated: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that is euthanasia!"

Born: June 24, 1842
Birthplace: Meigs County, Ohio, USA
Star Sign: Cancer

Died: January 11, 1914 (aged 71)