Born: 28 April 1926, United States
Died: 19 February 2016
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Nelle Harper Lee
The following is republished from the National Endowment for the Arts. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Harper Lee is recognized for her contribution to American literature with her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. A powerful statement of the Civil Rights movement, the novel continues to speak to new generations about tolerance and justice. To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 to highly favorable reviews and quickly climbed the bestseller lists, where it remained for 88 weeks. Since being published, To Kill a Mockingbird has sold more than 30 million copies in 18 languages. In 2007, President George W. Bush bestowed upon Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom.