The Most Hated Man in Texas

Perhaps one of the most vicious critics in the history of American literature, William Cowper Brann had negative comments for almost every writer and every thing. He stretched across the ocean to criticize Thomas Carlyle and Victor Hugo and sent stinging barbs toward Baylor University in Texas. Brann's sharp tongue and disagreeable manner never served him well.

William Cowper Brann was born on January 4, 1855, in Humboldt, Illinois. Brann's mother died when he was two years old, leaving him to live most of his childhood on the farm of William Hawkins. There he learned to hate farming and at age 13 ran away from home. He worked several jobs-bell boy, painter, drummer, and printer-while reading extensively and teaching himself foreign languages. Brann married Carrie Martin in 1877.

Also in 1877, Brann accepted a position as editorial writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Several years later, he moved his family to Texas where he became the chief editorialist for the Houston Post.

Having received criticism from his employers that his editorials were too radical, Brann bought his own printing office in Austin, Texas, and established the Iconoclast. The first issue, dated July 1891, was full of biting commentary and criticism. The magazine's negative tone, which some described as a roasting mill, was not profitable. The publication lasted less than a year.

In 1894 Brann sold the printing business to William Sidney Porter (O. Henry). He salvaged the name, but turned the publication into a humor magazine. The Iconoclast under Porter's supervision steadily gained readership. Brann was so insulted that he took the magazine from Porter and moved his family and the magazine to Waco. (Porter continued to publish the humor magazine, simply changing the name to The Rolling Stone.) Within four years Brann built the Iconoclast to a readership of more than 90,000. However, people still recognized it as a "blatant journal of opinion."

Over the years, many men learned to hate Brann. And, at last, having criticized the wrong person, Brann found himself in a duel. He died April 2, 1898, in Waco, Texas, from a gunshot wound. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Waco, Texas. Many people attended Brann's funeral, not so much to pay their respects but to see that the cruel man was actually dead.

Brann's books include: Brann's Speeches and Lectures (1895?); Potiphar's Wife (1897); and Brann's Scrapbook (1898).

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