George Fort Gibbs
| George Fort Gibbs | |
|---|---|
Gibbs circa 1915
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| Born |
March 8, 1870 New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Died | October 10, 1942 (aged 72) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
George Fort Gibbs (March 8, 1870 – October 10, 1942) was an American author, illustrator, artist, and screenwriter. As an author, he wrote more than 50 popular books, primarily adventure stories revolving around espionage in exotic locations. Several of his books were made into films. (His novel the Yellow Dove was filmed twice.) His illustrations appeared prominently in such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook and The Delineator. He also illustrated some of his own novels, and the novels of others. As a painter he produced many portraits, and painted murals for Pennsylvania Station and Girard College in Philadelphia. His screenwriting credits include a film about the life of Voltaire.
George Gibbs was born in 1870 in New Orleans. His father, Benjamin F. Gibbs (1836–1882), was a naval surgeon with the ironclad fleet stationed there. Dr. Gibbs had seen much adventure in his naval career. He had taken part in the Paraguay Expedition aboard the USS Memphis. During the American Civil War, he had taken part in the battle of Mobile Bay aboard the steam-sloop USS Ossipee and had been aboard one of the ships that chased the CSS Webb on its dash down the Mississippi.
In mid-war, on February 25, 1864, Dr. Gibbs married Elizabeth Beatrice Kellogg (1837–1883). The bride's father, Major George Kellogg, was a homeopathic doctor brought to occupied New Orleans by General Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the Army of the Gulf, and assigned to various duties as army surgeon, and as medical advisor to the family of General Banks. Nine months after their marriage, Mrs. Gibbs gave birth to a daughter, Julie Aline Gibbs (1864–1924). In 1870 a son, George Fort Gibbs, was born.
Dr. Gibbs continued to rise in the navy, ultimately attaining the rank of Medical Inspector and being designated Fleet Surgeon of the European Squadron on August 20, 1881. He took Elizabeth, Aline and George with him, settling them in Geneva, where George was enrolled as a student at the Chateau de Lancy for two years. Chateau de Lancy also educated such men as William Carlos Williams, Sir Harold Acton and Hamilton Fish. In September 1882, while aboard the USS Lancaster' sailing for Trieste, Dr. Gibbs became seriously ill. According to one source he was probably suffering from "malarial fever". When the ship reached port, he was immediately moved to a hospital, where he died on September 9. His son George was twelve years old at the time.
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