Catherine Drinker Bowen

Catherine Drinker was born to a Quaker family in Haverford, PA. A violinist, she took formal training in music, but never used it professionally, instead turning to writing. Although she had no training in the field her books were well-received despite academic criticism. She started off writing biographies of musicians, before turning to historical and political figures. She did all her own research and was working on a biography of Benjamin Franklin at the time of her death.