Beatrix Potter was born July 28, 1866 in South Kensington, London, England and died at the age of 77 on December 22, 1943.
English author, illustrator, mycologist and conservationist, best known for children's books featuring anthropomorphic characters such as in The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Born into a privileged household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets and spent holidays in Scotland developing a love of landscape, flora and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Her parents discouraged her intellectual development as a young woman, but her study and watercolors of fungi led to her being widely respected in the field of mycology.
She had frogs, newts, ferrets and even a pet bat. She also had two rabbits — the first was Benjamin, whom she described as "an impudent, cheeky little thing", while the second was Peter, whom she took everywhere with her on a little lead, even on the occasional outing. Potter watched the animals for hours on end, sketching them and developing her abilities as an artist.
Wishing to study at the Royal Botanic Gardens, she was turned down because she was a woman. Her mother and father discouraged any intellectual studies, wishing her to concentrate on running the household and getting married.
Anne Carter Moore, her last governess, was the first to recognize her immense talents after Potter sent story letters and pictures to Moore's five-year-old son. She encouraged Beatrix to pursue publication.
She was turned down by six publishers and decided to self-publish and distribute 250 copies of The Tales of Peter Rabbit. She attracted a publisher the next year, Fredrick Warne & Co. and became engaged to her publisher, Norman Wane, to the disapproval of her parents who considered the publisher a "commoner."
23 books later, her stories are still being read throughout the world.
Read more about this endearing author, her life and her books:
Wikipedia
The World of Beatrix Potter
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