Jump To:

• O. Henry
  O. Henry

  noun

  pen name of William Sydney Porter.
• Henry, O.
  Henry, O.

  A twentieth-century American author known for “The Gift of the Magi” and other short stories. He specialized in surprise endings. His real name was William Sydney Porter.

O. Henry

American  

[oh hen-ree] / oʊ ˈhɛn ri /

noun

1. pen name of William Sydney Porter.

---

O. Henry British  

/ əʊ ˈhɛnrɪ /

noun

1. pen name of William Sidney Porter. 1862–1910, US short-story writer. His collections of stories, characterized by his use of caricature and surprising endings, include Cabbages and Kings (1904) and The Four Million (1906)

---

Henry, O. Cultural  

1. A twentieth-century American author known for “The Gift of the Magi” and other short stories. He specialized in surprise endings. His real name was William Sydney Porter.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

O. Henry Henry, O.

American writer O. Henry, hiding in Honduras to avoid embezzlement charges back home, coined the term for such places: “banana republic External link.”

From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026

Short story writers like O. Henry dazzled readers with their deft finales.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2024

I feel like “Christmas Eve” has a slight O. Henry, “Gift of the Magi” element to it — another literary reference that hopefully the kids who watch “Frog and Toad” will read someday.

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2023

Still, the absence of this trio from the Library of America volume isn’t grievous but is simply an encouragement to acquire one or two additional O. Henry collections.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 7, 2021

But it ends with a twist worthy of O. Henry.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

During Black History Month at West Point, honor is paid to Henry O. Flipper, a formerly enslaved man who became the academy’s first Black graduate in 1877.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 2, 2021

President Clinton pardoned Henry O. Flipper, the first black officer to lead the Buffalo Soldiers cavalry regiment during the Civil War, who had been convicted of trumped-up embezzlement charges.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 21, 2018

Not long after, he presented Vice President Pence with a bust at the Henry O. Flipper Dinner, which is held annually in memory of West Point’s first African American graduate.

From Washington Post ● May 26, 2017

In her book, Ms. Milhaupt notes that Frank Lloyd Wright and the sugar tycoon Henry O. Havemeyer also became influential fans of kimonos and related textiles and prints.

From New York Times ● Sep. 18, 2014

His second son Henry O., was born May 16, 1849, the day the father left the frontier town of Independence, Missouri, for California.

From Collection of Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences by Daughters of the American Revolution. Nebraska