Hendrik van LoonHendrik Van Loon was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and book author. He was born on January 1, 1882, in Rotterdam, Netherlands.In 1902, he flew to the United States to study at Harvard University and then Cornell University. In 1906, he got arried to Eliza Ingersoll Bowditch. They both then moved to Germany and Loon completed his Ph.D. In 1911. From 1915 to 1916 he was a professor at Cornell University. In 1919 he became American Citizen. Loon later had two marriages, to Eliza Helen (Jimmy) Criswell in 1920 and to playwright Frances Goodrich Ames in 1927. But after his divorce, he returned from Ames and returned to Cornell. He started writing books in 1910 and continued till his death. The Story of Mankind is one of the most successful books that he wrote in 1921. And for this book, he won the Newbery Medal in 1922.He wrote many other children's stories. He was appreciated for emphasizing important events and giving full information about characters and historic events. From 1923 to 1924 he was a professor of history at Antioch College.The Story Of Mankind is a real-life story and the book contains black and white images. Read More Read Less