Born: 1848 near Eatonton, Georgia
Harris was the illegitimate son of an Irish day-laborer,
He left the home he shared with his impoverished mother and began his to-be-illustrious career as a typesetter's apprentice on a plantation newspaper near Eatonton.
Began editorial positions on Atlanta Constitution for 24 years
Spent much of his life and career in Georgia
Wrote novels, biography, history of Georgia, French Folktale translations, children's stories and adult short stories
He also wrote novels of plantation life and Reconstruction
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1905
Chosen to be a charter member of an elect pantheon of American writers
Known for "Uncle Remus" folktales and legacy as a "progressive conservative" New South journalist, folklorist, fiction writer, and children's author
In 2000 Harris was inducted as a charter member into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame
Died: 1908 in Atlanta, Georgia