Profile of the Day: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Remember reading Little House on the Prairie? On this day in 1867, author Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in a log cabin outside of Pepin, Wisconsin.
Image: Laura Ingalls Wilder / Missouri State Archives, Flickr
Wilder was a descendant of the Delano family, the same ancestral family of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In fact, Wilder and President Roosevelt were fifth cousins once removed.
Her life growing up with her pioneer family in the “Big Woods” became the basis of her “Little House” books. She published the first book in the series at the age of 65 and completed the last book in 1943 at the age of 76. The beloved book series would later become the inspiration for the highly popular television series Little House on the Prairie starring Melissa Gilbert, and introduced new generations of readers to the “Little House” series.
Wilder died on February 10, 1957, three days after her 90th birthday.
Explore Laura Ingalls Wilder’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected to the author!