Paul Bunyan

"Babe the Blue Ox" redirects here. For the band, see Babe the Blue Ox (band). For the statues in Bemidji, Minnesota, see Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. For other uses, see Paul Bunyan (disambiguation).

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