Here’s a short biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe with one hell of an opening line:

Fifty dollars in Cincinnati changed the course of this country.

That was the prize for a short-story contest hosted by “Western Monthly” in 1833. And that’s exactly what Harriet Beecher Stowe took home for her winning “Uncle Lot” tale.

It was the 22-year-old schoolmistress’ first triumph with her pen. And from that moment, Stowe spent her spare moments with her pen to paper.

Source: Cincinnati and the ‘little woman’ who started the Civil War