E. J. (Edward Jewitt) Wheeler (1859-1922) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and died in Lake Placid, New York. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, with a B.A. in 1879 before moving to New York. He married Jennie L. Wheeler (b. Fleming) in Brooklyn, New York, in 1887. Wheeler was prominent in the early prohibition movement, and from 1884 to 1898 he was editor of The Voice, a leading prohibition newspaper. Around 1895 he became editor-in-chief of the Literary Digest. In 1905 he became editor-in-chief of Current Opinion, in which post he remained until his death. In 1906 he was conferred the degree of Doctor of Literature by his alma mater. Wheeler was the first president of the Poetry Society of America. He was a trustee of Ohio Wesleyan University, governor of the National Arts Club, and a member of the Players, Economic, and MacDowell clubs of New York, New York. During World War I he was one of a group of American editors who went to Europe as guests of the British government. Wheeler was decorated by the French government in recognition of his editorial services on behalf of the Allies.

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