African-American writer and poet Richard Wright was born on September 4, 1908 in Roxie, Mississippi and published his first short story at the age of 16. Later, he found employment with the Federal Writers Project and received critical acclaim for Uncle Tom's Children, a collection of four stories. He’s well known for the 1940 bestseller Native Son and his 1945 autobiography Black Boy. Wright died in Paris, France on November 28, 1960.

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