Jean Lee Latham (April 19, 1902 – June 13, 1995) was an American writer who specialized in biographies (many of them nautical figures) for children or young adults.
She was born in West Virginia and received degrees from West Virginia Wesleyan College, Ithaca College, and Cornell University.
Miss Latham brings a varied background to her writing. She has been a linotype operator during her college days, a drama editor, and a writer of stage and radio plays. During World War II she trained Signal Corps inspectors and was awarded the War Department's Silver Wreath for her work. Although she is best-known for her Newbery Medal-winning Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, among her other popular books for young people are On Stage, Mr. Jefferson!; This Dear-Bought Land; Young Man in a Hurry; Drake: The Man They Called a Pirate; The Story of Eli Whitney; and Man of the Monitor. Miss Latham lived in Coral Gables, Florida.
Selected Books (not already listed below):
- On Stage, Mr. Jefferson
- Drake, The Man They Called a Pirate
- Samuel F. B. Morse: Artist-Inventor
- The Dog That Lost His Family
- When Homer Honked
- The Cuckoo That Couldn't Count
- The Man Who Never Snoozed
- Man of the Monitor: The Story of John Ericsson
- Eli Whitney: Great Inventor
- The Chagres: Power of the Panama Canal
- Sam Houston: Hero of Texas
- Retreat to Glory: The Story of Sam Houston
- George W. Goethals: Panama Canal Engineer
- The Frightened Hero: A Story of the Seige of Latham House
- The Columbia: Powerhouse of North America
- David Glasgow Farragut: Our First Admiral
- Anchor's Aweigh: The Story of David Glasgow Farragut
- Far Voyager: The Story of James Cook
- Rachel Carson: Who Loved the Sea
- Who Lives Here?
- What Tabbit the Rabbit Found
- Elizabeth Blackwell: Pioneer Woman Doctor
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