Robert Barr (16 September 1849 – 21 October 1912) was a Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist who also worked as a newspaper and magazine editor.
Early years in Canada
Barr was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Robert Barr and Jane Watson. In 1854, he emigrated with his parents to Upper Canada. His family settled on a farm near the village of Muirkirk. Barr assisted his father with his work as a carpenter and builder and was a teacher in Kent County, then in 1873 entered the Toronto Normal School.
After graduating, he taught in Walkerville and in 1874 became headmaster of the Central School at Windsor in 1874. During the 1870s, he wrote humorous pieces for various publications, including the Toronto Grip, under the pseudonym "Luke Sharp", which he took from an undertaker's sign. After the Detroit Free Press serialized his account of a boating trip on Lake Erie, in 1876 he changed careers and became a reporter there, then a columnist. Two of his brothers followed him to the newspaper.
London years
In 1881, by which time he was exchange editor of the Free Press, Barr decided to leave the ranch and relocated to London to continue his fiction writing career while establishing a weekly English edition of the newspaper. The magazine was very successful. In 1892, he founded the magazine The Idler, choosing Jerome K. Jerome as his collaborator (wanting, as Jerome said, "a popular name"). This was also very successful. Barr stepped down as co-editor in 1894, but in 1902 became the sole proprietor and returned as editor.
