Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories, screenwriter, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .
Hammett was born on a farm in Saint Marys County, Maryland. His parents were Richard Thomas Hammett and Anne Bond Dashiell his mother belonged to an old Maryland family, whose name in French was De Chiel. Sam, as he was known, was baptized a Catholic, and grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Source: Wikipedia