Harper Lee was an American author best known for her seminal work, To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel that has had a profound impact on American literature and culture. Born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, she was the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee, a lawyer, and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Her full name was Nelle Harper Lee, with "Nelle" being her grandmother's name sp..