Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the Beecher family and wrote a popular novel called Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which depicts the harsh conditions experienced by enslaved African Americans. The book reached an audience of millions as a novel and play and was influential in the United States and in Great Britain, energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South. Stowe wrote over 30 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. She was influential both for her writings and for her public stances and debates on social issues of the day.

Life and work

Harriet Elisabeth Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on June 14, 1811. She was the sixth of 11 children born to the outspoken Calvinist preacher Lyman Beecher. Harriet's mother was Beecher's first wife, Roxana (Foote), a deeply religious woman who died on September 25, 1816, when Harriet was only five years old. Roxana's maternal grandfather was General Andrew Ward, who fought in the Revolutionary War. Harriet's siblings included a sister, Catharine Beecher, who became an educator and author, and brothers who became ministers, including the famous preacher and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, as well as Charles Beecher and Edward Beecher.

Harriet enrolled in the Hartford Female Seminary run by her older sister Catharine, where she received a traditional academic education – uncommon for women at the time – with a focus on classics, languages, and mathematics. Among her classmates was Sarah P. Willis, who later wrote under the pseudonym Fanny Fern.