Beloved American author Harper Lee passed away on the morning of February 19, 2016. She was most famous for her book, To Kill a Mockingbird, and its companion novel, Go Set a Watchman. To Kill a Mockingbird is revered as one of the most important novels in American history because it deals with how prominent racism actually was in the south during the 1950s. To the people reading it throughout the decades, it has been not only a history lesson, but a morally applicable story to real life today. The well-written story of Scout and Jem is frequently taught in schools and used to teach students about the early Civil Rights movements.

Born in 1926, Nelle Harper Lee grew up in Alabama, surrounded by the realness of racism in the South that she writes about in To Kill a Mockingbird. She had a similar personality to her protagonist, Scout, as they were both tomboys with a disregard for the societal rules of the era. Many of her experiences trsanslated into her writing, including the famous court case with Tom Robinson, which resembles a case that her father took on.  

Lee was 89 at the time of her passing, and died in an assisted living home in Monroeville, Alabama. Her death was peaceful and in her sleep, according to her nephew Hank Connor.

The death of the famous author has saddened many fans, including Mr. Cox, who says, “Harper Lee was an American icon…I’m a little heartbroken.” For so many people, her books have shaped lives and impacted the way that the world is viewed.