Mildred Wirt Benson was born on July 10th, 1905. In 1929, at the age of 24, Millie wrote The Secret of the Old Clock. It was published on April 28th, 1930 along with the next two books in the series, which she also wrote (The Hidden Staircase, and The Bungalow Mystery). On October 3rd, 1929, Edward Stratemeyer wrote to Millie and requested that she would write a new series in the style of Ruth Fielding, but with a more girlish tone. He suggested that she develop quick action and strong holding points at the end of each chapter, and gave her a 3 and a half page outline. Mildred then began to create the character of Nancy Drew that we all know and love today (not the perfect, goody two shoes version of Nancy that Harriet Stratemeyer Adams created when doing the revisions). Millie was a great journalist and writer, and went on to many adventures herself! Her favorite series to. write was the Penny Parker Mysteries, which she wrote under her own name and debuted in 1939! They were basically Nancy Drew in the way that Millie truly wanted Nancy to be. She wrote lots and lots of books, was a writer at the Toledo Blade (where she met her second husband, who she married in 1950), learned how to pilot planes, went on archeological expeditions, was kidnapped in Guatemala (*gasp!*), and much more! She died on May 28, 2002 at 96 years old after living a very exciting and fulfilled life.
Obviously there's much more to Millie's life and her Nancy Drew journey and you can learn more about it at nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbbio and stay tuned for the biography that is currently being written by Nancy Drew expert, Jennifer Fisher!
In the meantime, here's a documentary I made about Mildred Wirt Benson with a few more details!