(1859-1946) US bookseller, publisher, and writer, in the latter capacity working mostly for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, for which he published at least 115 stories, usually book-length, under various names. As Franklin W Dixon, he wrote the nonfantastic Ted Scott Flying Series, based closely on the life of Charles A Lindbergh (1902-1974) (see Airplane Boys) and as by Richard H Stone the similar Slim Tyler Air Stories. As Allen Chapman, he wrote the first 12 (or 14) volumes of The Radio Boys series (1922-1929), the most substantial of the spate of similarly titled series published in response to the successful launching of broadcast radio in 1922 (see Radio Boys); the final volume was written by Howard R Garis. Each volume in the series was introduced by Jack Binns. As Victor Appleton he wrote the Don Sturdy sequence; the final volume was again written by Garis. As Roy Rockwood, he wrote the Bomba the Jungle Boy sequence (see Bomba Films). His daughter, Elizabeth M Duffield Ward (1895-1983), also worked for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and was responsible for a number of the Bobbsey Twins tales.—The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction