Conrad Michael Richter (1890-1968), American novelist and short-story writer, depicted the nation's early frontier life and westward expansion. His works, based on his own adventures and research into American folklore, protest man's destruction of his environment.

Conrad Richter was born on Oct. 13, 1890, in Pine Grove, Pa. As a boy he traveled with his father throughout the farm settlements and was enchanted by the pioneer life-style and idiomatic speech. Graduating from high school, he determined to be a writer and began reporting for a local paper. After first working at random jobs--mechanics, coal breaking, farming--at the age of 19 he became editor of a country weekly. Following experience with the Pittsburgh Dispatch (1910) and the Johnstown Leader (1911) he moved to Ohio. His "Brothers of No Kin" was accepted by a magazine and selected by the Boston Transcript as the best short story of 1913. But discouraged by the low prices paid for...