Anne O'Hare McCormick
Encyclopedia
Anne O'Hare McCormick was a foreign news correspondent for the New York Times, in an era where the field was almost exclusively "a man's world". In 1937, she won
the Pulitzer Prize
for correspondence
, becoming the first woman to receive a major category Pulitzer award. Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK
, in 1880, she was educated in the United States
at the College of Saint Mary of the Springs
in Columbus, Ohio
. After graduating she became an associate editor for the Catholic Universe Bulletin. Her 1911 marriage to Dayton
businessman Francis McCormick, an importer and executive of the Dayton Plumbing Supply Company, led to frequent travels abroad, and her career as a journalist became more specialized.
In 1921, she approached The New York Times
about the prospect of becoming a freelance contributor from Europe, to cover stories not already investigated by the Times' foreign reporters. The Times accepted, and McCormick provided the first in-depth reports of the rise of Benito Mussolini
and the Fascist movement in Italy
. As described in a Current Biography
article in 1940, "she was perhaps the first reporter to see that a young Milanese newspaper editor, lantern-jawed, hungry and insignificant, would attain world importance". Prior to the outbreak of World War II
, McCormick obtained interviews with Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini
, German leader Adolf Hitler
, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill
, President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt
, Popes Pius XI
and XII
, and other world leaders. In 1936, she became the first woman to ever be appointed to the previously eight-man editorial board of the Times. Her dispatches from Europe
that year were recognized with the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.
In 1939, with world war imminent, McCormick spent five months in 13 different nations, speaking with both political leaders and ordinary citizens in reporting the growing crisis. She was reported to have spent, every year, time with FDR discussing policy. After the war, during which she continued her reporting, McCormick was selected to represent the U.S. as a member of the first delegation to the UNESCO
conference at the United Nations
. Mrs. McCormick died in New York on May 29, 1954 and is buried at Gate of Heaven cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.
1937 Pulitzer Prize
-Journalism awards:-Letters and Drama Awards:*Novel:** Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell .*Drama:** You Can't Take It with You by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman .*History:...
the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for correspondence
Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence
The Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence was awarded from 1929 to 1947.-Winners:*1929: Paul Scott Mowrer of the Chicago Daily News, for his coverage of international affairs including the Franco-British Naval Pact and Germany's campaign for revision of the Dawes Plan.*1930: Leland Stowe of New York...
, becoming the first woman to receive a major category Pulitzer award. Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, in 1880, she was educated in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the College of Saint Mary of the Springs
Ohio Dominican University
Ohio Dominican University is a private four-year liberal arts institution, founded in 1911 in the Catholic and Dominican traditions. The main campus spans over in the North Central neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, United States. The university has just over 3,100 students and offers undergraduate...
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. After graduating she became an associate editor for the Catholic Universe Bulletin. Her 1911 marriage to Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
businessman Francis McCormick, an importer and executive of the Dayton Plumbing Supply Company, led to frequent travels abroad, and her career as a journalist became more specialized.
In 1921, she approached The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
about the prospect of becoming a freelance contributor from Europe, to cover stories not already investigated by the Times' foreign reporters. The Times accepted, and McCormick provided the first in-depth reports of the rise of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and the Fascist movement in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. As described in a Current Biography
Current Biography
Current Biography is an American monthly magazine published by the H. W. Wilson Company of The Bronx, New York, a publisher of reference books, that appears every month except December. Current Biography contains profiles of people in the news and includes politicians, athletes, businessmen, and...
article in 1940, "she was perhaps the first reporter to see that a young Milanese newspaper editor, lantern-jawed, hungry and insignificant, would attain world importance". Prior to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, McCormick obtained interviews with Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, German leader Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, Popes Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
and XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, and other world leaders. In 1936, she became the first woman to ever be appointed to the previously eight-man editorial board of the Times. Her dispatches from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that year were recognized with the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.
In 1939, with world war imminent, McCormick spent five months in 13 different nations, speaking with both political leaders and ordinary citizens in reporting the growing crisis. She was reported to have spent, every year, time with FDR discussing policy. After the war, during which she continued her reporting, McCormick was selected to represent the U.S. as a member of the first delegation to the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
conference at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Mrs. McCormick died in New York on May 29, 1954 and is buried at Gate of Heaven cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.
Sources
- "Anne O'Hare McCormick and the Changing Times" chapter in Women of the World, the Great Foreign Correspondents, Julia Edwards, Ivy Books, 1988.
- Notable American women: the modern period : a biographical dictionary, Volume 4, by Barbara Sicherman, Carol Hurd Green
- Current Biography 1940 Yearbook, 530-531.
- "Elizabeth A. McCormick", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=261.
- "Anne O'Hare McCormick Is Dead; Member of Times Editorial Board; Pulitzer Prize Winner in 1937 Interpreted News in Her Column, 'Abroad'," New York Times 30 May 1954, 1.