Leo Ognall

Ognall was born in Montreal, Canada, but grew up in Glasgow, Scotland.^[2] His father served as provost of Rutherglen.^[2] At age 19, the younger Ognall was working as a bus driver in Rutherglen.^[3] He also worked as a journalist before starting his fiction career.^{[citation needed]} He lived in Leeds in England for many years; he was married there in 1932,^[4] and while he was recorded as living in Ulverston in Cumbria in 1939,^[4] he was again living in Leeds by 1964.^[5]

Ognall wrote over 90 novels, which were published between 1951 and 1979. The New York City-based private eye Glenn Bowman, who appeared in 38 books written under the pen name of Hartley Howard, was one of his most successful characters.^[6] Under the Harry Carmichael pen name, his primary series characters were John Piper, an insurance assessor, and Quinn, a crime reporter; the London-based duo appeared together in 32 books.^[7] Ognall created the pseudonym "Harry Carmichael" as an amalgam of the names of his immediate family: his son Harry, his wife Cecilia, his daughter Margaret, and his son Michael. Ognall's 1964 spy thriller Department K was adapted into the 1968 British film Assignment K.^[8] Some of his works were also adapted for radio.^[9]

Ognall married Ceclia Sumroy (1909–1994) in 1932 in Leeds.^[4] The couple had three children,^[4] including Sir Harry Ognall, a barrister and judge who was well known for his prosecution of Peter Sutcliffe, dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper.^[10]

Ognall died in 1979, aged 70, in Leeds.^[11] His final book, The Sealed Envelope, was published posthumously later that year.^[12]

Source:^[13]