Francis Brett Hart, known as Bret Harte (August 25, 1836– May 5, 1902), is an American short-story writer and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush.
In a career spanning more than four decades, he writes poetry, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches in addition to fiction.
As he moves from California to the eastern U.S. to Europe, he incorporates new subjects and characters into his stories, but his Gold Rush tales have been most often reprinted, adapted, and admired.