Oliver Optic

William T. Adams
William T. Adams from Who-When-What Book, 1900
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 5th Norfolk District
In office January 6, 1869 – January 5, 1870
Succeeded by	Samuel Atherton
Member of the School Committee of Boston, Massachusetts
In office 1870 – 1870
Member of the School Committee of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts
In office 1867 – 1870
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	July 30, 1822 Medway, Massachusetts
Died	March 27, 1897 Dorchester, Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Sarah Jenkins
Children	Alice Maria Adams, Emma Louisa Adams
Profession	Teacher, author

William Taylor Adams (July 30, 1822 – March 27, 1897), pseudonym Oliver Optic, was a noted academic, author, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Adams was born in Medway, Massachusetts in 1822 to Captain Laban Adams and Catherine Johnson Adams.

Adams became a teacher in the Lower Road School in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1843, he resigned from his position as master of the school in 1846 in order to assist his father and brother in the management of their new hotel in Boston, the Adams House hotel. Adams decided that he preferred teaching so in 1848 he returned to teaching this time at the Boylston School in Boston. In 1860, Adams was promoted to the position of master of the Boylston School. When the Bowditch School was founded, Adams transferred to that school as its master, a position he held until he resigned from teaching in 1865. This experience naturally brought him closely into contact with boys, and he learned much of what interested them, which had a good deal to do with his eventual success as an author. Extensive travel abroad and a deep knowledge of boats, farming, and practical mechanics were other factors that gave his works reality.

In 1846, Adams married Sarah Jenkins, with whom he had two daughters.

Adams served as a member of the School Board of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, and later of the City of Boston, for 14 years.

Adams served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, for the 5th Norfolk District, from January 6, 1869 to January 5th 1870.

Adams first began to write at the age of 28, and his first book, Hatchie, the Guardian Slave (1853), was published under the pseudonym of Warren T. Ashton. It was only a modest success, but Adams was undaunted. In 1855 Adams produced his first real hit, the initial volume in the Boat Club series. Adams continued to write until he died in Dorchester, March 27, 1897. Among his best-known works were the two "Blue & Gray" series, which were set during the Civil War.

Adams wrote well over 100 books in total, most of them for a boy audience, and the majority of these in series of four to six volumes. He never wrote under his own name. Though "Oliver Optic" was the pseudonym he used most, his work also appeared under the bylines "Irving Brown," "Clingham Hunter, M.D.," and "Old Stager." Like many children's authors of his day, he was additionally an editor, and many of his works first appeared in Oliver Optic's Magazine.