Journalist, Author. He is remembered for being a leading front-line war correspondent covering about every major war during his journalism career. He covered the Spanish-American War, Boer War, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. As a novelist with a flair for the dramatic, yet at times a romantic or humorous style, he authored “Gallegher and Other Stories, “ which was his first novel; “Van Bibber and Others, which was about the rich of New York City;” “Soldier of Fortune,” his most popular novel; and the “Bar Sinister,” written in 1903 after the Boer War. He also wrote twenty-five plays with the most notable being “The Dictator,” which had three runs on Broadway between 1904 and 1911. Born the oldest son, his parents were Clarke Davis, a newspaper editor and abolitionist and Rebecca Harding, a novelist. In 1882 he enrolled at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania but left in 1885 with failing grades. He had on-the-job training at his father's newspaper the “Philadelphia Inquirer”. In 1886 he enrolled at John Hopkins University but left in a short time to go to Cuba when the opportunity came. The same year, his career in journalism begins with a reporter position for the “Record” but was fired for sub-standard work. Then he landed another reporter position with the “Press, “ which was successful with an interview with Walt Whitman and detailed coverage of the May 32, 1889 Johnstown Flood. By 1888 he began reporting for an entertainment newspaper “Stage” and wrote a column, “The Lime Light Man.” By 1890 he had left Pennsylvania and was in New York City as the managing editor for three years of “Harper's' Weekly” and published his first novel, “Gallegher” by 1891. From 1894 to 1896 he published seven travel books with “Princess Aline” becoming among the top-ten best sellers in the United States. In 1898, he interviewed Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt in a Tampa, Florida hotel before going to Cuba for the Spanish-American War. Traveling with Roosevelt's Rough Riders, he reported the actions back to a couple of large newspapers and making first-page headlines. Cutting ties with one newspaper, he became upset learning that an editor had enhanced his war reports to boost his newspaper sales. His assignments afforded him the chance to travel around the world and reporting various news-worthy events. He traveled to Moscow, Russia to cover the coronation of Czar Nicholas II; to London, England for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee; to Washington D.C. for President William McKinley's inauguration; South American for political unrest then to wars in Greece, Turkey, and Budapest. With his first wife, American artist, Cecil Clarke, he traveled to the Congo in Africa publishing more travel books. In 1904, he was on assignment for Collier's Publishing Company during the Russo-Japanese War when he was captured and held prisoner of war By the Japanese for six months. His reports were compiled with others' in the book, “The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review.” On July 8, 1912, he married the beautiful red-headed performer, Bessie McCoy, who had received noted acclaim for her signature song “Yama Yama Girl.” He traveled back to Cuba to help with the filming of the movie made from his novel, “Soldier of Fortune;” although the Broadway play from this book was successful, the film was not. Other films from his books include the 1891 novel “Kings' Jackal,” which was made into the 1924 movie, “Honor Among Men” and the 1903 novel “Bar Sinister,” which was made into the 1955 movie, “It's a Dog's Life.” Then in 1914, he accepted an assignment related to an unrest at the Mexican boarder before going to Europe for the start of World War I then writing “With the Allies”. While in France, he was accused of being a spy, lived in the filthy trenches with the soldiers, and nearly killed during a German military advancement. “The Deserter,” which gave a detailed description of the German Army marching into Brussels as a killing machine during World War I, stands among his best works. His last published piece was “With the French in France and Salonika” with the book's preface dated April 11, 1916. While writing in the middle of the night, he died of a heart attack at his home at Crossroads Farms. Four months earlier, he had been diagnosed with cardiac problems. He was cremated and his ashes were interred next to his parents' graves. His only child, Hope, who was named for the heroine in “Soldier of Fortune," was born sixteen months before his death.