Harriet Beecher Stowe died (1-7-1896)

American writer and abolitionist (born 1811),
author of _Uncle Tom's Cabin_ (1852).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe
 From a family with many notable people, including her brother,
Henry Ward Beecher, "American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ward_Beecher
The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher
Called the hen a most elegant creature.
A hen, just for that
Laid an egg in his hat,
And thus did the hen reward Beecher.
But about Harriet:
_UTC_ was written in response to the passage in 1850 of the second Fugitive Slave Act. It began as a projected story of a few instalments in an abolitionist magazine, but she kept expanding it, and eventually the publisher offered her a book contract. It was a huge success.
"Second best-selling book of the 19th century, after the Bible."
Also sold very well in the UK, thanks in part to rampant copyright infringment. "By 1857, the novel had been translated into 20 languages. Translator Lin Shu published the first Chinese translation in 1901, which was also the first American novel translated into that language."
She did write other things, though. Crystal quotes a long passage from _Oldtown Folks_ (1869), a novel about the "old days" in a Massachusetts town, based largely on her husband's reminiscences. She describes what might be called "grammar bees" (my term, see yesterday) -- a week long inter-class competition in the high school, with competitive parsing and debates over complex points of English grammar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin