Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933) was an American writer born and raised in the Midwest. He attended Harvard University and became a journalist for The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. Biggers eventually fell in love with fiction and made it his primary focus. Some of his earlier works include Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913) and Love Insurance (1914). Yet, Biggers is best known for the popular Charlie Chan detective series, which began with the 1925 novel, The House Without a Key. There were six novels in all, adapted across multiple mediums including film, television, radio, and comics.