Betty Smith
The author who immortalized the struggles and dreams of a young girl growing up in a tenement, creating one of America's most beloved novels.
1896–1972 (age 76)·American playwright and novelist·Birthday: December 15·The Lost Generation
Biography
Betty Smith's own life was the raw material for her masterpiece. Born to German immigrants in Brooklyn, she left school early to work, but a fierce autodidactic drive led her to university and eventually the Yale School of Drama. While writing plays, she began to shape the story of Francie Nolan, a bookish, resilient girl in early 1900s Williamsburg. 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,' published in 1943, was an instant and enduring phenomenon, offering a gritty yet hopeful portrait of poverty, family, and the hunger for education. Smith's straightforward, deeply felt prose connected with millions, turning her novel into a cultural touchstone. Though she wrote other books, it was this semi-autobiographical work that secured her legacy, giving voice to the quiet dignity of ordinary people striving for a better life.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Betty was born in 1896, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Betty Was Born
The biggest hits of 1896
Betty's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1896Born
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1901Started school
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Became a teenager
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1912Could drive
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1914Could vote
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1917Turned 21
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Turned 30
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1936Turned 40
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1946Turned 50
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1956Turned 60
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1966Turned 70
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1972Died at 76
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
Key Achievements
- Wrote the seminal American novel 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,' which has sold millions of copies and never been out of print.
- The novel was adapted into a highly successful Oscar-winning film in 1945, directed by Elia Kazan.
- Her play 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' was also produced on Broadway.
- Served as a writer for the Federal Theatre Project during the Great Depression.
Did You Know?
She married a fellow Yale drama student, George H. E. Smith, and had two daughters.
She did not graduate from high school but later audited classes at the University of Michigan and Yale.
The title of her novel refers to the Tree of Heaven, a hardy species that grows in urban cracks and crevices.
“'Look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory.'”
