Louisa May Alcott

Profession: Author

Biography: Louisa May Alcott's novels remain as popular today as when they were first published in the nineteenth Century. "Little Women" (1868) and its sequels "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys" were semi-autobiographical, based on the life of Alcott and her own three sisters.

Alcott was a feminist and an abolitionist and her views are reflected in her writings. She was also the daughter of a transcendentalist and through her father grew up with intellectuals such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau who also had some influence on her work.

Born: November 29, 1832
Birthplace: Germantown, Pennsylvania, USA
Star Sign: Sagittarius

Died: March 6, 1888 (aged 55)
Cause of Death: Stroke