Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes—for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and for the two plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth — and a U.S. National Book Award for the novel The Eighth Day.
He was also an early Davenport fellow!
Wilder graduated from Yale in 1920, before there was a residential college system in place. But together with his sister Isabel, who was an accomplished writer, Wilder became a Davenport fellow in the years after graduation. Of all the residential colleges to get involved with, the Wilders chose us!
Photo of Wilder for his Yale College graduation, 1920
The Faces of Davenport: Yesterday & Today 