James. M. Barrie (1860-1937) was a Scottish playwright and novelist best remembered today for his fantasy work Peter Pan .

James Matthew Barrie was born on May 9, 1860, in Kirriemuir, Scotland. He was the ninth child and third son of David and Margaret (Ogilvy) Barrie. His father was a weaver and his mother the daughter of a stonemason. Barrie attended Glasgow Academy and Dumfries Academy. In 1878 he enrolled in Edinburgh University, where he graduated in four years with a master's degree. Barrie gained his first literary success with Auld Licht Idylls, sketches of Scottish life, published in 1888. His melodramatic novel The Little Minister (1891) was also a great success.

Barrie's best-known work, Peter Pan is the story of a boy who refuses to grow up and creates his own world of Indians, pirates, and fairies. Peter Pan was produced for the stage in 1904 but appeared as a narrative story only in 1911. It was adapted as a play with music (1950), and as a musical comedy (1954, revived in 1979) that was also performed on television. Peter Pan was also made into a silent film (1924) and a feature-length animated cartoon (1952). Because he wanted his creation to benefit youngsters as much as possible, Barrie donated his rights in Peter Pan to a London children's hospital.

Barrie wrote two other fantasy plays, Dear Brutus(1917) and Mary Rose(1920). Among his other well-known plays are The Admirable Critchton (1902) and What Every Woman Knows (1908). He also wrote Margaret Ogilvy an adoring biography of his mother in 1896. Though Barrie has been often criticized for sentimentality and whimsy, his works often reveal a profound understanding of human nature and a capacity for sharp wit and irony.

Barrie was elected Chancellor of Edinburgh University in 1930 a post which he held till his death on June 3,1937.