Harry Leon Wilson (May 1, 1867 – June 28, 1939) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels Ruggles of Red Gap and Merton of the Movies. His novel Bunker Bean helped popularize the term flapperHarry Leon Wilson was born in Oregon, Illinois, the son of Samuel and Adeline (née Kidder).[2] Samuel was a newspaper publisher, and Harry learned to set type at an early age.[3] He began work as a stenographer after leaving home at sixteen. He worked his way west through Topeka, Omaha, Denver, and eventually to California. He was a contributor to the histories of Hubert Howe Bancroft, and became the private secretary to Virgil Bogue. Less