Ida Minerva Tarbell (1857 - 1944) was an American teacher, author and journalist. She wrote many notable magazine series and biographies, and is best known for her 1904 book The History of the Standard Oil Company, which was listed as No. 5 in a 1999 list by New York University of the top 100 works of 20th century American journalism. In 2000 she was induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. In 2002, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Ida M. Tarbell as part of a series of four stamps honoring women journalists. This book contains her 1909 Lincoln lecture at the University of Michigan and the Billy Brown Stories, namely; He Knew Lincoln; Back in '58; Father Abraham; and In Lincoln's Chair.