Bill Nye

Edgar Wilson Nye (1850–1896), known as Bill Nye, was one of the most popular American humorists of the late nineteenth century. Born in Maine and raised in Wisconsin, he went west to Laramie, Wyoming, where he studied law, served as postmaster and founded the Laramie Boomerang, a newspaper named after his mule. His deadpan columns were syndicated across the country, and he toured the lecture circuit with the poet James Whitcomb Riley. His books include Bill Nye and Boomerang, Baled Hay and the illustrated Comic History of the United States (1894). He should not be confused with the modern science educator of the same name.