Harriet Beecher Stowe

Date of Birth: June 14, 1811

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Date of Death: July 1, 1896

Biography

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American author and abolitionist, born on June 14, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut. She is best known for her novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which depicted the harsh realities of slavery and galvanized anti-slavery movements in the United States and abroad. Stowe was the seventh of 13 children born to Lyman Beecher, a Congregationalist minister, and Roxana Foote Beecher. Growing up in a deeply religious and reformist household, she was exposed to progressive ideas from an early age. Stowe attended the Hartford Female Seminary, founded by her sister Catharine Beecher, where she received a rigorous education uncommon for women of her time. In 1836, she married Calvin Ellis Stowe, a professor of Biblical literature, and they had seven children together. Stowe’s literary career began with contributions to various magazines, but it was “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” first serialized in 1851, that brought her international fame. The novel was instrumental in shaping public opinion against slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Harriet Beecher Stowe continued to write and publish numerous works, including novels, travel memoirs, and articles, until her death on July 1, 1896, in Hartford, Connecticut.

5 Interesting Facts about Harriet Beecher Stowe

1. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” sold 300,000 copies in its first year of publication.

2. President Abraham Lincoln reportedly greeted Stowe by saying, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”

3. Stowe wrote over 30 books in her lifetime, including novels, travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters.

4. She was an advocate for women’s education and supported efforts to provide higher education for women.

5. Stowe’s home in Hartford, Connecticut, is now a museum dedicated to her life and work.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Harriet Beecher Stowe

1. “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”

2. “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

3. “It’s a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.”

4. “So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls, why doesn’t somebody wake up to the beauty of old women?”

5. “I did not write it. God wrote it. I merely did his dictation.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s highest net worth is difficult to quantify in modern terms, but her novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a massive bestseller, earning her significant financial success during her lifetime.

Children

Harriet Beecher Stowe had seven children with her husband Calvin Ellis Stowe. Their names were: 1. Harriet Beecher Stowe Jr. 2. Eliza Tyler Stowe 3. Henry Ellis Stowe 4. Frederick William Stowe 5. Georgiana May Stowe 6. Samuel Charles Stowe 7. Charles Edward Stowe