Stephen Leacock

Though he was a political scientist and economist, Stephen Leacock is

not known for his writing on those subjects; rather, he is famous for

his sense of humor and his witty stories that continue to inspire writers

and comedians today.

A good sense of humor can get you through just about anything; if he were still with us,
Stephen Leacock would be the first to agree.
A hundred years ago, Leacock was probably the best-known humor writer and most
famous Canadian in the world. His stories and books, such as Sunshine Sketches of a
Little Town, had brought him fame and fortune. And soon-to-be-legendary comedians
like Jack Benny and Groucho Marx were inspired by his writing.
But, as funny as he was, Leacock hadn’t always had much to laugh about.
His family moved to the little town of Egypt, Ontario from England, where they had been
quite wealthy. However, their Canadian farm failed and his father became an alcoholic
who beat his wife and children. It was up to Stephen to stand up to his own father and
kick him out of the house.
A top student, Stephen had to put himself through university by taking teaching jobs,
which he hated. He started trying to sell his stories to magazines as a way of making extra
money for school - his real interests were economics and politics.
Leacock eventually became head of the political economy department at McGill
University in Montreal. By that time, his stories had taken off and his fame had begun to
spread worldwide.