Rex Stout | |
|---|---|
 Rex Stout on Our Secret Weapon (December 1942) | |
| Born | Rex Todhunter Stout December 1, 1886 Noblesville, Indiana, United States |
| Died | October 27, 1975 (aged 88) Danbury, Connecticut, United States |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Detective fiction |
| Notable works | Nero Wolfe corpus 1934–1975 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Military career | |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1906–1908 |
Rex Todhunter Stout (/staʊt/; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels, and 41 novellas and short stories, between 1934 and 1975.
In 1959, Stout received the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon XXXI, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.
In addition to writing fiction, Stout was a prominent public intellectual for decades. Stout was active in the early years of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founder of the Vanguard Press. He served as head of the Writers' War Board during World War II, became a radio celebrity through his numerous broadcasts, and was later active in promoting world federalism. He was the long-time president of the Authors Guild, during which he sought to benefit authors by lobbying for reform of the domestic and international copyright laws,[specify] and served a term as president of the Mystery Writers of America in 1959.