J.M. Barrie

J. M. Barrie, that Scottish dude with a knack for spinning tales, basically gave the world Peter Pan—the boy who flat-out refused to grow up. Barrie's imagination first took flight in "The Little White Bird" back in 1902, and he kept riffing on that whole Pan universe through plays and novels for years. Born in a small Scottish town called Kirriemuir (which, fun fact, was all about weaving back then), Barrie was the ninth kid outta ten. His mom, Margaret, pretty much raised him on stories after tragedy hit—the death of his older brother David in a freak skating accident. That loss haunted the family, and you can see the echoes of it in Barrie's later work—especially the never-growing-up bit. Barrie bounced through a bunch of schools, getting his head crammed full of books and penny dreadfuls, and even put together his own amateur drama club. The guy loved adventure stories and was obsessed with pirates. He wrote his first play as a teen, and it actually got him in trouble with the local church for being “immoral.” Dreaming of being a writer, he went along with his family’s wishes and hit up the University of Edinburgh, where he got his first taste of journalism. After college, he churned out stories inspired by his quirky Scottish roots, scoring some hits with tales about small-town life. Barrie eventually hit the big time with plays, and his own life drama—awkward marriage, messy love life—played out offstage, too. But at the end of the day, it’s Peter Pan and that magical refusal to grow up that keeps Barrie’s name alive.