Kate Chopin was born Katherine O'Flaherty on February 8, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri, the third of five children, and the only one to survive past the age of twenty-five. Her ancestors were among the first inhabitants of Dauphin Island, Alabama. When she was five, her father died and she formed a strong bond with her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, as well as an avid reader of classic novels, fairy tales and poetry. In 1870, she married Oscar Chopin and within eight years, they had six children, settling in New Orleans. Oscar died in 1882, leaving Kate deep in debt. For the next two years, she attempted to keep his businesses afloat, but ended up selling them and moving back to St. Louis. A year later, her mother died, sending Kate into depression. A doctor and family friend, suggested that writing might be a form of therapy and by the 1890s, Kate was writing short stories. Her second novel, "The Awakening," was published in 1899. The book was too far ahead of its time and was severely criticized. While visiting the St. Louis World's Fair, Chopin suffered a brain hemorrhage, dying on August 22, 1904, at the age of 54. She is buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis. Though she never made much money from her writing during her life, by 1914, she was recognized as one of the leading writers of her time, and a forerunner of feminist authors of the 20th Century.
