Biography:

Reporter, teacher, writer. Born– February 6, 1909, Demopolis. Parents– Wyatt Childs and Maud (Lurton) Blassingame. Married– Gertrude Olsen, 1936 (died 1976); children–two.  Married Leonora Jeanne Toman. Education– Howard College, 1926-1928; University of Alabama, A.B., 1930, graduate work 1931-1933; New York University, 1951-1952. Military service–U.S.Navy, 1942-45.  Reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser, 1930-1931; teaching fellow at the University of Alabama, 1931-1933; instructor at Florida Southern College, 1948-1951; full time writer after 1951. Published many stories in magazines and journals. Honors; Benjamin Franklin Magazine Award, 1956, for best short story, “Man’s Courage”, published in Harpers; two Outstanding Science Books for Children Awards.  Died January 9, 1985.

Source:

Something About the Author and Contemporary Authors online.

Publication(s):

Baden-Powell. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1966.

Bent’s Fort: Crossroads of the Great West.  Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1967.

Bowleg Bill. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1967.

Combat Nurses of World War II. New York; Random, 1967.

Dan Beard, Scoutmaster of America.  Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1972.

Diving for Treasure. Philadelphia; Macrae-Smith, 1971.

Eleanor Roosevelt. New York; Putnam, 1968.

Ernest Thompson Seton. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1971.

The Everglades, from Yesterday to Tomorrow. New York; Putnam, 1974.

The First Book of American Expansion. New York; Watts, 1965.

The First Book of Florida. New York; Watts, 1963.

The First Book of the Seashore. New York; Watts, 1964.

For Better, For Worse. New York; Crowell, 1951.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Four Times President. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1966.

The French Foreign Legion. New York; Random, 1955.

The Golden Geyser. Garden City, N.Y.; Doubleday, 1961.

Great Trains of the World. New York; Random, 1953.

Halo of Spears. Garden City, N.Y.; Doubleday, 1962.

Halsey: Five-Star Admiral.  Garrard, 1970.

His Kingdom for a Horse. New York; Dodd, Mead, 1983.

How Davy Crockett Got a Bearskin Coat. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1972.

The Incas and the Spanish Conquest. New York; J. Messner, 1980.

Jake Gaither; Winning Coach. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1969.

Jim Beckwourth, Black Trapper and Indian Chief. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1973.

John Henry and Paul Bunyan Play Baseball. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1971.

John Smith Hears Death Walking.  NY: Bartholomew House, 1944.

Joseph Stalin and Communist Russia. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1971.

The Little Killers: Fleas, Lice, Mosquitos. New York; Putnam, 1975.

Live from the Devil. Garden City, N.Y.; Doubleday, 1959.

The Look-it-up Book of Presidents. New York; Random, 1968.

Medical Corps Heroes of World War II. New York; Random House, 1969.

Naturalist-Explorers. New York; Watts, 1964.

Navy’s Fliers in World War II. Philadelphia; Westminister, 1967.

Osceola. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1967.

Out-Island Doctor. Garden City, N.Y.; Doubleday, 1963.

Paul Bunyan Fights the Monster Plants. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1974.

Pecos Bill and the Wonderful Clothesline Snake. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1978.

Pecos Bill Catches a Hidebehind. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1977.

Pecos Bill Rides a Tornado. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1973.

Ponce de Leon, A World Explorer.  Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1965.

Porcupines. New York; Dodd, 1982.

Sacagawea: Indian Guide. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1965.

Science Catches the Criminal. New York; Dodd, 1975.

Skunks. New York; Dodd, 1981.

Stephen Decatur,  Fighting Sailor.  Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1964.

The Story of the Boy Scouts. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1968.

The Story of the United States Flag. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1969.

The Strange Armadillo. New York; Dodd, 1983.

They Rode the Frontier. New York; Watts, 1959.

Thor Heyerdahl, Viking Scientist. New York; Elseyier/Nelson, 1979.

Underwater Warriors. New York; Random House, 1982.

The U.S. Frogmen of World War II. New York; Random, 1964.

William Beebe, Underwater Explorer. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1976.

William F. Halsey, Five Star Admiral. Champaign, Ill.; Garrard, 1970.

William Tecumseh Sherman, Defender of the Union. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.; Prentice, 1970.

Wonders of Alligators and Crocodiles. New York; Dodd, 1973.

Wonders of Crows. New York; Dodd, 1979.

Wonders of Egrets, Bitterns, and Herons. New York; Dodd, 1982.

Wonders of Frogs and Toads. New York; Dodd, 1975.

Wonders of Racoons. New York; Dodd, 1977.

Wonders of Sharks. New York; Dodd, 1984.

Wonders of The Turtle World. New York; Dodd, 1976.

Joint_Publications;

Frontier Doctors.  New York: F. Watts, 1963.

Men Who Opened the West.  New York City: Putnam, 1966.

The Mountain Men. NY: F. Watts, 1962.

Out-Island Doctor.  NY: Dutton, 1963. (3rd edition Nassau, Bahamas:  Media Publishing, 1998.)

Contributor;

Devils in the Dark. Chicago:  Weinbery, 1979.

Papers:

A collection of the papers of Wyatt Blassingame is held by the Special Collections Department of the Library at the University of South Florida.