Johanna Spyri

Children's Author

Birthday June 12, 1827

Birth Sign Gemini

Birthplace Hirzel, Switzerland

DEATH DATE Jul 7, 1901 (74)

#180125 Most Popular

About

Nineteenth-century children's author best remembered for Heidi, a children's classic originally published in 1881. A popular Swiss author, she published more than fifty works of fiction over the course of her career.

Before Fame

She published her first literary work, a piece dealing with domestic violence and entitled A Note on Vrony's Grave, in 1880.

Trivia

Her portrait appeared on a 1951 Swiss postage stamp and on a 2009 coin.

Family Life

She married attorney Bernhard Spyri in 1852. Sadly, both her husband and her one child passed away in 1884.

Associated With

She and American author Susan Warner both published popular children's books during the nineteenth century.