Stephen Crane (1871 – 1900) was an American writer best known for his novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Born in New Jersey to a preacher and the daughter of a preacher, he was reading and writing by the time he was four and, by the time he was a teenager, had already earned several bylines. Supporting himself as a freelance journalist while attempting to publish his short stories and novels, Stephen struggled constantly with chronic financial stress, poor health, and sundry crises in his personal life. Given his prolific output and critical acclaim, he was on his way to becoming one of America’s most significant literary figures, but died of tuberculosis when he was just 28 years old.