William Strunk, Jr., was born July 1, 1869, in Cincinnati, Ohio. After earning a bachelor's degree at the University of Cincinnati in 1890 and a Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1896, Strunk went on to have a long career as an educator. He taught English at Cornell for forty-six years.

Strunk wrote the first edition of The Elements of Style for the use of his students and had it privately printed in 1918. A revised edition titled The Elements and Practice of Composition, with Edward A. Tenney as coauthor, was printed in 1935. The only other book Strunk wrote was English Metres, published locally in 1922. Better known as an editor, Strunk edited works by important authors including William Shakespeare, John Dryden, and James Fenimore Cooper.

Strunk married Olivia Emilie Locke in 1900, and they had two sons and a daughter. Strunk died in Ithaca, New York, on September 26, 1946.

Elwyn Brooks White, who...