May 13, 1894

Emma Gelders Sterne, who wrote dozens of books, including three children’s titles set in her hometown, was born in Birmingham. Much of her childhood was spent around Red Mountain, and she began writing at a young age, publishing articles in her high school and college literary magazines. After she married attorney Roy Sterne and gave birth to two daughters, the family moved to New York and her writing career took off in earnest. Most of her 44 books were either history or children’s stories. Her books “No Surrender,” Amarantha Gay, M.D.” and “The Calico Ball” centered on life in Birmingham. Sterne continued to write and engage in social activism until she died in San Jose, California, in 1971.

Read more at Bhamwiki.

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