Lester Bernard Dent was born in La Plata, Missouri. In 1923, he graduated from La Plata High School. He attended Chillicothe Business College where he learned telegraphy. In 1925, Dent married Norma Gerling and in 1931 the couple moved to New York City, where Dent began writing detective and adventure stories. He wrote many 'Doc Savage' stories under the house name of Kenneth Robeson. In addition to the 'Doc Savage' stories, he wrote numerous western, air-war, detective and mystery stories.