Bel Kaufman

Bella "Bel" Kaufman (May 10, 1911 - July 25, 2014) was an American teacher and author of Jewish-Ukrainian descent. She was best known for writing the 1965 bestselling novel "Up the Down Staircase".
Kaufman was born in Berlin, Germany to Jewish-Russian parents. She was raised in Odessa and Kiev, Ukraine.
Kaufman died at home in New York City on July 25, 2014, aged 103.