Nina Brown Baker

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Nina Brown Baker
BornDecember 31, 1888
Galena, Kansas
DiedSeptember 1, 1957
Brooklyn Heights
OccupationTeacher, writer
NationalityAmerican
GenreBiographies

Nina Brown Baker (December 31, 1888–September 1, 1957) was an American author of biographies aimed at children.

Biography[]

Nina Brown was born in Galena, Kansas on December 31, 1888 to Frank Brown and Belle née Warren. Baker attended the University of Colorado where she completed a teaching certificate, graduating in 1911. She worked in Galena for a year before moving to Alison, Colorado to run a small school. The experience was uncomfortable; the town was little more than a couple of buildings and Baker was required to chop her own wood and other chores. She needed to ride a horse, an activity she had never learned before. She returned to Kansas city where she did business courses and took office jobs. There she met her husband and after marriage her teaching career was over.[1][2]

Baker had first submitted a story which was accepted when she was nineteen. She had earned twenty five dollars for a short story to Good Housekeeping. When she was no longer teaching Baker returned to writing and had various pieces published leading to her first mystery book for children in 1931. She wrote several similar mystery stories before moving on, in about 1940, to writing biographies of famous individuals aimed at young people. By the end of her career she had produced over 25 books.[1][3][4][2]

Personal life[]

Baker married Sydney J. Baker in 1915. The couple had two daughters, Berenice and Nina. They moved around from Omaha to St. Louis and Chicago before settling in Brooklyn Heights in 1938. Baker died at home on September 1, 1957.[1][2]

Selected works[]

  • Cyclone in calico : the story of Mary Ann Bickerdyke
  • Amerigo Vespucci
  • Juarez : hero of Mexico
  • Juan Ponce de León
  • He wouldn't be king : the story of Simón Bolívar
  • Nickels and dimes : the story of F.W. Woolworth
  • Peter the Great
  • Sir Walter Raleigh
  • Henry Hudson
  • The story of Christopher Columbus
  • The Chinese riddle, a mystery story for girls
  • The Secret of Hallam House

Sources[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "NINA BROWN BAKER, WROTE FOR CHILDREN". The New York Times. September 3, 1957.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah (2002). Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Yorkin Publications. ISBN 978-0-7876-4073-6.
  3. ^ Chester, Giraud (June 29, 1952). "A 'Mother' In War; CYCLONE IN CALICO: The Story of Mary Ann Bickerdyke. By Nina Brown Baker. 278 pp. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. $3.50". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies". Library of Congress.


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