Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor, Maine
BirthplaceVarious claimed:
In-universe information
Full namePaul Bunyan
SpeciesGiant
OccupationLumberjack
NationalityFrench-Canadian/Canadian/American

Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American[2] and Canadian folklore.[3] His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors,[4][5] and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers,[2][4][5] and was later popularized by freelance writer William B. Laughead (1882–1958) in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company.[6] He has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions.[2] His likeness is displayed in a number of oversized statues across North America.[7][8]

  1. ^ Smith, Benjamin (January 19, 2012). "6 Towns That Claim Paul Bunyan as Their Own (and What They Should Be Bragging About Instead)". Mental Floss. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Wisconsin Historical Society (n.d.), Paul Bunyan, retrieved May 25, 2014
  3. ^ Robins, John (1982). Fowke, Edith (ed.). Paul Bunyan, Superhero of the Lumberjacks. Toronto: NC Press Limited. ISBN 0-919601-63-4.
  4. ^ a b Stewart, K. B.; Watt, Homer A. (1916), Legends of Paul Bunyan, Lumberjack, Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, vol. 18/II, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, pp. 639–651, retrieved April 30, 2014
  5. ^ a b Edmonds, Michael (2009), Out of the Northwoods: The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan, Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society
  6. ^ Wisconsin Historical Society (July 29, 2007), The Peculiar Birth of Paul Bunyan, archived from the original on October 10, 2013, retrieved November 22, 2011
  7. ^ Hartly, John P. (2007), Legendary Landscapes: A Cultural Geography of the Paul Bunyan and Blue Ox Phenomena of the Northwoods, Kansas State University, retrieved May 5, 2014
  8. ^ Roadside America Team (2005), A Catalog of Bunyans: Roadside statues and other tributes to the Great Tree-Biter, Paul Bunyan, RoadsideAmerica.com, archived from the original on November 28, 2014, retrieved June 28, 2011