The Real Dorothy of Oz: A Bloomington Tragedy

A five-month-old baby lies buried in the very back of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Bloomington, Illinois. Her weathered 122-year-old headstone is barely readable. Yet this forgotten infant became the inspiration for one of the most famous characters in American literature: Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy Louise Gage died suddenly in November 1898, devastating her aunt Maud Baum—wife of author L. Frank Baum. At that exact moment, Frank was writing the story he'd been telling his sons about a little girl trying to return to her loving aunt. Heartbroken by Maud's grief, he immortalized baby Dorothy by giving her name to his lead character. Two years later, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became a bestseller.

This episode explores how a forgotten tragedy in an Illinois cemetery shaped American pop culture forever, revealing the real heartbreak behind the yellow brick road.

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In This Episode:

• Why a baby's grave in the back of Bloomington's cemetery holds a literary secret
• How L. Frank Baum created the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and named the land of Oz
• The tragedy that struck the Baum family while writing The Wizard of Oz
• Hidden connections between baby Dorothy's death and the book's themes
• What happened when The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hit stores in 1900

Key Figures:

• Dorothy Louise Gage (1898) - Five-month-old infant, namesake of Dorothy Gale
• L. Frank Baum - Author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• Maud Gage Baum - Frank's wife, Dorothy's aunt
• Thomas and Sophia Gage - Dorothy's parents
• Matilda Gage - Maud's mother, famous suffragist

Timeline:

• June 11, 1898: Dorothy Louise Gage born in Bloomington, Illinois
• November 1898: L. Frank Baum begins writing Wizard of Oz manuscript
• November 11, 1898: Baby Dorothy dies of "brain congestion"
• November 15, 1898: Dorothy's funeral in Bloomington
• 1900: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz published, dedicated to Maud
• July 5, 1900: First public showing at Palmer House book fair in Chicago
• September 1900: First 10,000 copies sell out within a month

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