Eugene Field

Eugene Field (1850-1895), American poet and journalist best known for his poetry for children. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Field was educated at Williams and Knox colleges and at the University of Missouri. The success of his Chicago Morning News column, “Sharps and Flats” (1883-1895), helped foster the further growth of humorous columns in American newspapers. Field's notable children's poems include “Little Boy Blue” (1892) and “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” (1892), both set to music by the American composers Reginald De Koven and Ethelbert Nevin, and “The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat” (1894). Among his works of wit and poetry are The Denver Tribune Primer (1882), A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), and Poems of Childhood (1896).