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 plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth — and a U.S. National Book Award for the novel The Eighth Day. Early years and family Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Amos Parker Wilder, a newspaper editor and later a U.S. diplomat, and Isabella Thornton Niven. Wilder had four siblings as well as a twin who was stillborn. All of the surviving Wilder children spent part of their childhood in China when their father was stationed in Hong Kong and Shanghai as U.S. Consul General. Thornton's older brother, Amos Niven Wilder, became Hollis Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School. He was a noted poet and was instrumental in developing the field of theopoetics. Their sister Isabel Wilder was an accomplished writer. They had two more sisters, Charlotte
Thornton Niven Wilder (17 de abril de 1897 - 7 de diciembre de 1975) fue un dramaturgo y novelista estadounidense. Ganó tres Premios Pulitzer - por la novela The Bridge of San Luis Rey y por las obras Our Town y The Skin of Our Teeth - y un Premio Nacional de Libro de los Estados Unidos por la novela The Eighth Day. A principios de los años y la familia Wilder nació en Madison, Wisconsin, el hijo de Amos Parker Wilder, un editor de periódicos y más tarde un diplomático estadounidense, y Isabella Thornton Niven. Wilder tenía cuatro hermanos y un gemelo que fue muerto. Todos los niños Wilder que sobrevivieron pasaron parte de su infancia en China cuando su padre se instaló en Hong Kong y como Consul General de Shanghái. El hermano mayor de Thornton, Amosiven Niven Wilder, Hollis se convirtió en profesor de Divinidad en la Escuela de la Divinidad de Harvard.