Writer, artist, and humorist, Thurber was born in Columbus, attended East High School and entered The Ohio State University in 1913, beginning his literary career on the staff of the student paper, The Lantern. After leaving OSU in 1918, Thurber moved on to The Columbus Dispatch and, in 1927, joined the editorial staff of the prestigious New Yorker. Columbus and Ohio State remained central influences in Thurber's lifework and in his affections. His play, A Thurber Carnival, had its world premier in Columbus at the Hartman Theatre in January 1960. Jabberwock, a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee based on "improbabilities lived and imagined by James Thurber in the fictional city of Columbus, Ohio" opened this theatre on November 18, 1972, which proudly bears his name.