Early Life/Education

Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, a small rural town. She was the youngest of four children. During her childhood, Harper was a tomboy, but she also was an avid reader in her spare time. During high school, she fostered an interest in English literature and graduated to attend Huntingdon College in Montgomery. At Huntingdon, Harper was a member of the school's literary honor society. Then, she attended The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, where she submitted articles to the school's newspaper and humor magazine. In her junior year, she was accepted into the university's law school, but she eventually dropped out and sought to pursue her dream to become a writer. Lee eventually moved to New York City, and worked as a ticket agent for an airline company until she was given a gift by a friend - a talent agent and the monetary support so she could write consistently for a year. As a result, her claim to fame, To Kill a Mockingbird, was written.