William Maxwell Reed

Who was William Maxwell Reed?

William Maxwell Reed, a.k.a. W. Maxwell Reed, was a pioneering U.S. author of illustrated science books for children.

Reed was born in Bath, Maine in 1871. After schooling at Harvard, he taught astronomy at Harvard and Princeton University.

Reed later went into the steel industry.

Beginning as a series of letters to his nephew, his first book "The Earth for Sam" was first published in 1929. While science has discovered much since then, the book remains popular, having been republished in 2005.

"Earth" was followed by a series of popular children's information books, many published by Harcourt, Brace, many of which had multiple editions. The series apparently led many children to undertake science careers.