Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American novelist, poet an journalist. The eighth surviving child of highly devout parents—his father was a Methodist minister and his mother was a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union—Crane was mostly raised by his older siblings in various parts of New Jersey. After attending several post-secondary institutions, including Claverack College, Lafayette College, and Syracuse University, he left schooling behind and traveled to New York to work as a reporter of slum life.