Clara Ingram Judson

Clara Ingram Judson was an American children's author born in Logansport, Indiana, on May 4, 1879, and she later lived in Indianapolis, Chicago, and Evanston, Illinois. She wrote more than 70 books for young readers, with a long-running focus on clear, approachable nonfiction.

Much of her work introduced children to American history through biographies of well-known figures, especially U.S. presidents. Among her best-known books are Abraham Lincoln, Friend of the People, which received a Newbery Honor in 1951, Theodore Roosevelt, Fighting Patriot, a Newbery Honor book in 1954, and Mr. Justice Holmes, which earned another Newbery Honor in 1957.

Her career was recognized with one of children's literature's major lifetime honors in 1960, the award now known as the Children's Literature Legacy Award. She died on May 24, 1960, and her influence continued in the Midwest through the Clara Ingram Judson Memorial Award, named in her honor.