1/6/1927 Franklin W. Dixon signs up

January 6, 1927.  Chances are you never heard of Leslie McFarlane, but he helped create two characters who influenced millions of mystery readers, and quite a few readers.  On this day the young Canadian signed a contract to write the first volumes of a new series for the book-packaging giants known as the Stratemeyer Syndicate.  He wrote most of the first thirty Hardy Boys novels, always under the name Franklin W. Dixon.  He got paid less than one hundred bucks a book, but he left quite a trail of fans behind him.

Main source: Cornelius, Michael G.  Nancy Drew and Her Sister Sleuths.