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Thornton Wilder (born April 17, 1897, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.—died December 7, 1975, Hamden, Connecticut) was an American writer whose innovative novels and plays reflect his views of the universal truths in human nature. He is probably best known for his plays. After graduating from Yale University in 1920, Wilder studied archaeology in Rome. From 1930 to 1937 he taught dramatic literature and the classics at the University of Chicago. His first novel, The Cabala (1926),...