Henry Irving Dodge

Henry Irving Dodge (April 11, 1861 - July 28, 1934) was an American writer. He was best known for creating the character "Skinner" which appeared in Skinner's Dress Suit and a number of additional stories in the 1910s.[1]

Dodge and actress Anna Q. Nilsson in 1927

Dodge was a great-nephew of Washington Irving and grandson of Major General Richard Henry Dodge who fought in the American Revolution and War of 1812. He was born in Oswego County, New York. He studied engineering and law, but preferred writing, and worked for newspapers and magazines. He did not publish his first novels until he was 45.

In 1916, his story Skinner's Dress Suit was published in The Saturday Evening Post,[2] featuring the character William Manning Skinner, and he continued writing Skinner stories to meet public demand, including Skinner's Baby, Skinner's Big Idea, and Skinner Makes It Fashionable in 1920. A few Skinner films based on his works were made in the 1910s and 1920s, e.g., Skinner's Baby (1917) and Skinner's Dress Suit (in both 1917 and 1926). Dodge also wrote plays.

Dodge married Margaret Small in 1902. Dodge died in New York City on July 28, 1934, of angina. Though his death merited an obituary with photograph in The New York Times, his work has not drawn much attention since his death.[1]