We’re wrapping up our theme week on 5 People Who Shaped Christmas! Today we’re talking about Robert L. May, who is best known for creating Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! He was working as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward when his boss asked him to write a children’s book for Christmas. The store had been giving away coloring books each Christmas, but it was decided creating their own book would not only be more cost-effective, but also a goodwill gesture for customers. The request came at a rough time in May’s life. His wife was battling cancer, and died while he was still working on the story, leaving him widowed with a 4-year-old daughter. His boss offered to reassign the project, but May insisted on finishing it. He decided to make a reindeer the main character in his story because it was a Christmas animal and because his daughter loved the deer at the zoo. He almost named it Rollo or Reginald before settling on Rudolph. May finished the story in August 1939 and it was first distributed that Christmas season. Montgomery Ward gave away 2.4 million copies that year. Due to wartime restrictions, the book wasn’t re-issued until 1946. That year, another 3.6 million copies were handed out to shoppers. Montgomery Ward ended up giving May the copyright for the story free and clear, and the first commercial edition went on sale in 1947. In 1949, May persuaded his brother in law, Johnny Marks, to write the words and music for a song about Rudolph. It was initially turned down by several popular singers, but it was finally recorded by Gene Autry. Today, the song is the 2nd-most popular Christmas song of all time, after “White Christmas”. Learn more in the audio below!