Frederick Albion Ober (1849-1913) was an American author, travel writer, biographer and historian. He was occupied as a shoemaker (1862-1866) and subsequently attended the Massachusetts Agricultural College but due to the lack of funds was forced to leave after only a short time. In 1876 he began making ornithological surveys to the Lesser Antilles where he discovered 22 bird taxa new to science. During his writing career which lasted 30 years he wrote more than 40 books, mostly travel books but also bird books and biographies. He was among the founders of the Explorers Club in 1904. His first notable work was a travel book, Camps in the Caribbees (1880). Other works include: Mexican Resources (1884), A Boy's Adventures in the West Indies (1888), Crusoe's Island: A Bird-Hunter's Story (1898), The Last of the Arawaks (1901), The Navy Boys' Cruise With Columbus (1903), "Old Put" The Patriot (1904), Hernando Cortes (1905), Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru (1906) and Amerigo Vespucci (1907).