William Francis Mannix

William Francis Mannix (died 1920) was an author and forger. He was known for writing The Memoirs of Li Hung Chang, which he falsely presented as translated memoirs of Chinese politician Li Hongzhang.

History Sarah Matthewson of the University of London wrote that "Much of Mannix’s life remains a mystery." According to Albert G. Hess, Mannix's birthday was not known with certainty, and that fraudsters often embellish their histories; Hess stated "it is conceivable that even Mannix's wife and children did not know his exact birthplace and birthdate when he died." In 1911, Ralph Delahaye Paine estimated Mannix was more than fifty years old. Some accounts stated Mannix was born in 1870 and 1875. A 1920 death announcement stated he was 47. His father, Edward J. Mannix, originated from County Cork in Ireland, and had four male children older than Mannix.

Circa 1892, Mannix established the Adirondeck Pioneer, a newspaper based in Saranac Lake, New York. He gave names of prominent people vacationing there to newspapers based in larger communities. On several occasions, he falsely stated that a certain person was staying at multiple hotels at the same time, as a means of obtaining more money fraudulently. Eventually, newspaper editors learned about the deception. O'Sullivan stated that the Spanish removal made Mannix get a reputation of being "an American hero".

Mannix, after the Spanish American War, was removed from his job at The Philadelphia Press, and according to Matthewson his reputation was damaged by the firing. His alcoholism began to manifest at this point. He engaged in fraud by making fake signatures to indicate sales that did not happen in his job selling encyclopedias. During his time, he wrote a religious-themed poem involving a battle between Christians and non-Christians. He titled it "The Yellow Peril."

Mannix and returned to the United States and, there, engaged in acts of fraud. Mannix's employer, whom the check was written in the name of, did not assist the prosecution and did not wish to see him prosecuted. While incarcerated in the Oahu Jail, he wrote The Memoirs of Li Hung Chang. He presented it as a work by Li Hongzhang that he had edited. He had used borrowed library books as inspiration to write the book. He left the jail after eight months due to a pardon by Governor of Hawaii Walter Frear. In response, the Chinese government criticized him for publishing forged material. In 1918, Mannix issued a pamphlet advertising a product which had falsely stated that Mannix interviewed Li Yuanhong, then President of the Republic of China, when in fact Mannix had not been in China to interview him, as he never went back to the country after his military stint.

Once the public learned The Memoirs of Li Hung Chang was false, Mannix experienced some instability with employment. He ceased selling forgeries, and worked as a newspaper's business manager at the time he died. A newspaper article stated that Mannix died on August 31, 1920, in Astoria, Oregon. The newspaper article stated he was 47. They obtained letters and records from Mannix's time in the military. The two never wrote the work. The papers were deposited with Princeton University. Duhon identified a photograph of Mannix that was present in the Ruth E. and Edward M. Brecher Collection and included it in her thesis.