March 1, 1859 [Lynn, Massachusetts]– November 25, 1928 [Highland Park]
Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, a classmate of Theodore Roosevelt’s at Harvard College (from from he dropped out in his senior year), Lummis published himself his first book of poems, Birch Bark Poems, which he printed on paper-thin sheets of birch bark. Lummis was offered the job of City Editor at the Los Angeles Times in 1884; he chose to make the 3,507-mile journey on foot. For many years, he lived in New Mexico where he tangled with the Federal Government over the rights of Native Americans. Returning to Los Angeles, he became publisher and editor of Out West which published work by Jack London and John Muir among other notable Californians.
