June 11, 1769

Anne Newport Royall, who became a pioneering travel writer, political journalist and newspaper publisher, was born on this day. After Royall’s husband died, a jury nullified his will and left her penniless. She embarked on a writing career and became most noted for a nine-volume work on her travels in the United States, as well as “Letters from Alabama on Various Subjects” in 1830. Royall spent time at Melton’s Bluff in Lawrence County and in Huntsville writing about prominent residents. Her narratives went beyond descriptions of people to include valuable geographical, agriculture, economic and political information about the time in which she lived.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Portrait of Anne Newport Royall. (Freedom From Religion Foundation)

Headstone of Anne Newport Royall in the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C., 2012. (Slashme, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.