Harry M. Caudill

(1922 - 1990)

Harry M. Caudill grew up in Letcher County, Kentucky, a coal-rich region in the Appalachian Mountains where his family had lived for five generations. After studying law at the University of Kentucky, he returned to his hometown to practice law for twenty-eight years. He also served in the state legislature from 1954 to 1960, advocating against strip-mining—a cause he also took up in many books and articles. In 1963, spurred in part by Caudill’s work, President John F. Kennedy set up a commission to investigate the region’s living conditions.