Helen Bannerman

Helen Bannerman, born Helen Brodie Cowan Watson (February 25, 1862 in Edinburgh – October 13, 1946 in Edinburgh), was a Scottish author of children's books. She is best known for her first book, Little Black Sambo (1899).

Bannerman was born in Edinburgh. Because women were not admitted into British universities, she sat external examinations set by the University of St. Andrews, attaining the qualification of Lady Literate in Arts (LLA) in 1887. She then married William Burney Bannerman, a physician and an officer in the Indian Medical Service (IMS). The couple then moved to India, taking up residence in Madras (modern-day Chennai), capital of the state of Tamil Nadu on the southeastern seacoast, populated mostly by the Tamil ethnic group. During their 30 years in India they had four children: daughters Janet (b. 1893) and Day (b. 1896), and sons James "Pat" Patrick (b.1900) and Robert (b. 1902).

She died in Edinburgh in 1946 of cerebral thrombosis.

She was the grandmother of the physicist Tom Kibble, who discovered the Higgs–Kibble mechanism and the Higgs boson.

The illustrations and settings of Bannerman's books are all about Indians and their culture. Little Black Sambo has ghee, tigers, and a bazaar, The Story of Little Black Mingo has jungle, a mugger (a kind of crocodile), a dhobi, and a mongoose, Little Black Quasha has a bazaar and tigers, and The Story of Little Black Quibba has mangoes and elephants.

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