The Resume

(August 25, 1836-May 6, 1902)
Born in Albany, New York
Birth name was Francis Brett Hart
Author and poet
Best known for his accounts of pioneer life in California
Works include the short story 'The Outcasts of Poker Flats' and the narrative poem 'The Heathen Chinee'

Why he might be annoying:

He (almost) shares a name with pro wrestler Bret 'The Hitman' Hart.
He borrowed money from friends and never repaid it.
After he settled in England, Mark Twain called him 'an invertebrate without a country.'
'The Heathen Chinee' was written as a satire of anti-Chinese prejudice, but was embraced by opponents of Chinese immigration as support for their cause.
He later called 'The Heathen Chinee' 'the worst poem I ever wrote, possibly the worst poem anyone ever wrote.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He was fired as a newspaper reporter after taking advantage of the boss's absence to publish an editorial condemning a massacre of American Indians by white settlers (1860).
He signed a contract with the Atlantic Monthly paying a then-record $10,000 a year for twelve stories (1871).
Twain said, 'Though I am generally placed at the head of my breed of scribblers in this part of the country, the place properly belongs to Bret Harte.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 19th Century Poets
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 25]
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [H-L]
• I Died in 1902 (Ranked: 65)
• I Have Throat Cancer
• Known By a Middle Name
• People who Have Similar Names on Am I Annoying (Ranked: 477)
• Poets
• Profiles 27501-27750 (Ranked: 27677)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 17 Votes: 70.59% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying