Bio

Katharine Lee Bates was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts on August 12, 1859. In the summer of 1893, she embarked on an extensive tour of America, from Niagara Falls, to the World's Fair in Chicago, and ultimately to Pike's Peak near Colorado Springs. It was from this vantage point that she was inspired to write the first drafts of "America the Beautiful." First published on July 4, 1895 by The Congregationalist, the poem underwent 2 more revisions to become the version we know today.