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Walt Whitman > 
American poet, journalist, and essayist Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, Long Island, New York on May 31, 1819. Although very controversial when first published in 1855, his most important work, a poetry collection entitled Leaves of Grass, is now considered a landmark in the history of American literature. With this collection, Whitman's intention was to create a distinctly American epic utilizing free verse and a unique cadence inspired by biblical language, but he deviated from traditional epic poetry by rejecting the idea of an elevated hero and instead assuming the identity of the common people. Leaves of Grass, which Whitman continued to expand and revise until his death, includes now-classic poems such as "Song of Myself," "O Captain! My Captain!," and "I Sing the Body Electric." He died on March 26, 1892, of complications arising from bronchial pneumonia, consumption, and tuberculosis and is buried in a tomb in Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, New Jersey.
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