On this day in 1985 E. B. White died at the age of eighty-six. Beyond the specific fame -- his "Notes and Comments" for The New Yorker; his "One Man's Meat" essays for Harper's; his children's books Stuart Little, Charlottte's Web and Trumpet of the Swan -- White is revered for his straight-talking and clear-saying, and his loathing of show-off prose. Not for nothing is Charlotte's ultimate web -- tribute to Wilbur, "Humble," nor is it chance that White was commissioned to edit several editions of William Strunk Jr.'s classic, The Elements of Style ... FULL STORY »
