Which author wrote the book, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’?

Robert L. May (1905-1976) was the writer who wrote the book, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’.

In 1936, May went to Chicago where he started working as an in-house advertising copywriter for Montgomery Ward, the retail department store. He would continue to work for Ward’s for most of the next 24 years. In 1939, May was asked to write a “cheery children’s book” for a giveaway for Christmas shoppers, suggesting “it should be an animal story…”. The story he wrote, drew on his painfully shy childhood taking him 50 hours to compose.

When published during the 1939 holiday season to shoppers, it was a hit- 2.4 million copies were given away. By 1950, the story was part of the American culture. It would become popular in Europe, Australia and Canada where Santa Claus was a traditional part of the Christmas season.

Several of the children’s stories that May wrote throughout his career, involved a hero striving to overcome a physical handicap that had produced a deep sense of inferiority.

Rudolph is usually depicted as the 9th and youngest of Santa’s reindeers. He used his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. While Rudolph initially receives ridicule for his nose as a fawn, the brightness of his nose is so powerful that it illuminates the team’s path through harsh winter weather.