Bel Kaufman

Bella Kaufman was born in Berlin, Germany on May 10, 1911. In 1922, she emigrated to the United States with her parents. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College in 1934 and a Master's degree in English from Columbia University in 1936. She worked as a teacher and sold the occasional short story to magazines. Her first novel, Up the Down Staircase, was published in 1965. There was a film version of the novel made in 1967. Her other works included Love, Etc. and a collection of short stories entitled La Tigresse. She died on July 25, 2014 at the age of 103.