Johanna Louise Spyri was a Swiss author best known for Heidi, the classic children's novel that made her name. She grew up in Hirzel, a rural part of Zurich canton, and spent summers as a kid near Chur in Graubünden—the mountain landscape that would become the heart of her most famous work.

Spyri wrote novels throughout her career, but it's the children's stories she's remembered for. Heidi in particular became her masterpiece, drawing heavily on those childhood memories of the Swiss Alps. The book's success cemented her place in children's literature and kept readers coming back to her other stories as well.

Died: July 7, 1901