Lyman Frank Baum was born in 1856, Chittenango, New York, passing away in 1919. was a prolific children's author and playwright most famous for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Also an editor and some-time actor he created the series of books which added to the Oz canon in the early 1900s, although it's the original tale of Dorothy that has become one of the most successful and popular fantasies of all time, inspiring generations of adults and children with new movie and theatrical adaptations.