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Ross Lockridge
Ross Lockridge Jr. (b. April 25, 1914, d. March 6, 1948) Novelist. Noted for his publication in 1948 of Raintree County, his only novel, but a classic American tale.
Born to a historian father and psycologist mother; Lockridge entered Indiana University in 1931, was a gifted student, winning a scholarship to Harvard in 1940. Instead of focussing on Walt Whitman, the subject of his doctoral thesis, Lockridge chose to write Raintree County, his take on the Great American Novel and succeded. The novel hit #1 in the New York Times best seller list, was awarded a MGM movie contract and excerpts of his book were published in Life magazine.
He was a 2003 inductee into the Monroe County Hall of Fame on which his his plaque reads "Wrote the acclaimed novel Raintree County, which some called "The Great American Novel.""
Lockridge, failed to bear witness to his own success, taking his life on March 6th, 1948, just two months after his novel was published. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.
