Charles Boardman Hawes

Charles Boardman Hawes was an American author of historical sea fiction, best known for his posthumously published novel *The Dark Frigate*. He was born on January 24, 1889, in Clifton Springs, New York, and died suddenly on July 16, 1923, at just 34 years old, with only two of his five books released during his lifetime. Hawes became the first U.S.-born winner of the Newbery Medal, awarded in 1924 for *The Dark Frigate* as the year's outstanding American children's book. His adventure stories of the sea drew comparisons to the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Richard Henry Dana Jr., and Herman Melville. Though his original writing career was brief, his work found a second life in the 1950s and 1960s when his stories were adapted for the *Classics Illustrated* comic series, appearing in multiple international editions such as *Illustrerade klassiker* and *Stjerneklassiker*. In our catalog, Hawes is credited as a writer on 17 issues published between 1958 and 1970, primarily through the *Classics Illustrated* line. His legacy rests on his vivid, historically grounded sea tales and his pioneering Newbery win, which helped establish a tradition of honoring American children's literature.