Theodore A. Tinsley (October 27, 1894 – March 3, 1979) was an American writer who primarily wrote

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

stories. Tinsley wrote 27 stories featuring

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

for ''The Shadow Magazine''

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

. He also created Carrie Cashin, one of the first female detectives in pulp fiction, who appeared in

Street & Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc., was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp magazine, pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting year ...

's ''Crimebuster'' pulp magazine. An early series he wrote is the "Amusement Inc./Scarlet Ace" series that ran over 4 different pulp magazines in the 1930s.

Early life

Theodore Adrian Tinsley was born on October 27, 1894, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the eldest of six children of Francis B. Tinsley, the owner of a coal yard, by his wife Gertrude (Theban) Tinsley. Tinsley graduated from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

in 1916, and worked as a school teacher and insurance agent before fighting in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a member of an anti-aircraft machine gun battery. He was a veteran of the battle of Meuse-Argonne.

Stories

Tinsley's Shadow stories are listed chronologically here:

Later life

On February 5, 1935, Theodore Tinsley married May Ethel White. In 1989, their daughter Dr. Adrian Tinsley would be named president of

Fitchburg State University Fitchburg State University (Fitchburg State) is a public university in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It has 3,421 undergraduate and 1,238 graduate/continuing education students, for a total student body enrollment of 4,659. The university offers und ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Tinsley moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he worked in the Writer's Division of the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

. After the war's end, he worked in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

for the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

until 1960, when he retired to

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama, Aubu ...

, where he spent the rest of his life.Dralyuk Tinsley died on March 3, 1979, at age 84.

References

1894 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Pulp fiction writers 20th-century American male writers People of the United States Office of War Information {{US-fiction-writer-stub