Ida Tarbell

Ida Minerva Tarbell was an American teacher, author and journalist. She was one of the leading muckrakers of the progressive era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is thought to have pioneered investigative journalism. She is best known for her 1904 book, The History of the Standard Oil Company, which was listed as No.in a 1999 list by New York University of the top 100 works of 20thcentury American journalism. It was first serialized in McClures Magazine from 1902 to 1904. She depicted John D. Rockefeller as crabbed, miserly, moneygrabbing, and viciously effective at monopolizing the oil trade. She wrote many other notable magazine series and biographies, including several works on President Abraham Lincoln, revealing his early life.

Ida Tarbell was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania, on November 5, 1857. to Esther Ann and Franklin Summer Tarbell, a teacher and a joiner by trade. She was born in the log cabin home of her maternal grandfather, Walter Raleigh McCullough, a ScotsIrish pioneer, and his wife. Her fathers distant immigrant ancestors had settled in New England in the 17th century.

Source: Wikipedia