Robert L. May

Robert L. May (July 27, 1905 – August 11, 1976) was an American advertising copywriter. He is best known for creating the fictional character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Early in 1939, May's boss at Montgomery Ward asked him to write a "cheery children's book" for Christmas shoppers, suggesting it should be an animal story. Prior to that time, Montgomery Ward had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas, but it was decided that creating a book of its own would save money and be a nice good-will gesture.

In writing the Christmas giveaway, May decided to make a reindeer the central character of the book because it was a Christmas animal. Working at home and in his spare time at the office, May wrote the book in about 50 hours. He finished the poem in late August 1939.