John F. Matheus
American writer
John Frederick Matheus (September 10, 1887 – February 19, 1983) was an American writer and a scholar who was active during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. He is well known for his short stories, and he also wrote essays, plays and poetry. His story "Fog" won first place in Opportunity magazine's literary contest in 1925 and was published that same year in Alain Locke's famous anthology The New Negro. Matheus won first prize in the Crisis magazine's contest in 1926 with his story "Swamp Moccasin". His works were influenced by Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Edgar Allan Poe's tales, and the writings of Phillis Wheatley and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Biography
John Frederick Matheus was born on September 10, 1887, to John William, a former slave, and Mary Susan Brown Matheus in Keyser, West Virginia. After being threatened at his workplace, his father found a job in Steubenville, Ohio, and the family moved to Ohio. This relocation to a new state and new environment next to the Ohio River was the best opportunity for the young Matheus to collect material for his 24 short stories. In addition to stories drawing on the Ohio landscape, he went on to write stories based on his travels to Africa, Europe, and Caribbean. In the terms of his writing, he was influenced by other writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Phillis Wheatley, and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q54825362. VIAF identifies the subject as 34062708. The Library of Congress control number is no97038578. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1887, 1983, 1925 and 1926.
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