William Taylor Adams (1822-1897) was a noted academic, author, and Massachusetts state legislator. He was born in Medway, Massachusetts. He became a teacher in the Boston, Massachusetts public schools in 1845, and remained in that capacity through 1865. He served as a member of the School Board of Dorchester, Massachusetts, for 14 years. In 1869, he became a member of the Massachusetts General Court. He wrote many books of fiction for boys under the pseudonym Oliver Optic, including All Aboard or, Life on the Lake (1855), Poor and Proud or, The Fortunes of Katy Redburn (1858), The Soldier Boy or, Tom Somers in the Army (1863), The Birthday Party: A Story for Little Folks (1864), Outward Bound or, Young America Afloat (1867), Now or Never or, The Adventures of Bobby Bright (1872), Taken by the Enemy (1888), Little by Little or, The Cruise of the Flyaway (1888), On The Blockade (1890), Within the Enemy's Lines (1890), Stand by the Union (1891), Fighting for the Right (1893), A Victorious Union (1893), Haste and Waste or, the Young Pilot of Lake Champlain (1894), and Across India or, Live Boys In The Far East (1895).