Jane Austen

• Born December 16, 1775
• Died July 18, 1817

Jane Austen was a British author of the early 19th Century whose works remain popular over 200 years later. She is noteworthy as perhaps the first author to have a novel mentioning baseball, doing so early in Northanger Abbey (written in 1803, published in 1818 after Austen's death). The game is listed as base ball and the mention is in passing but it is notable in taking place decades before Abner Doubleday was said to have supposedly "invented" baseball.