Ada Patterson

Not to be confused with Ada Paterson.

Ada Patterson
Patterson in a race car, reporting on the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup
Born5 July 1867
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania
Died26 June 1939 (aged 71)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJournalist

Ada Patterson (5 July 1867 – 26 June 1939) was an American print journalist.[1]

Early life

Patterson was born in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, and received her education at Franklin Academy in Franklin, Nebraska.[2]

Career

Patterson wrote for the St. Louis Republican, where she was dubbed "the Nellie Bly of the West".[3] She also wrote for the Salt Lake Herald, the San Francisco Call, and the New York American.[2] For several years, Patterson also wrote a column in Theatre Magazine, which she signed as "The Lady with the Lorgnette".[2]

Patterson covered a number of notable murder trials, including those of Anne Madison Bradley (charged with the murder of Utah Senator Arthur Brown) and Charles Becker.[2] Patterson covered the trial of Harry Kendall Thaw along with three other women (Winifred Black, Dorothy Dix, Nixola Greeley-Smith) and together, they were given the dismissive nickname of the "sob sisters." The phrase became a term of derision for other female journalists, who were believed to be overly emotional or compassionate.[4]

Patterson wrote a biography of Maude Adams By the Stage Door and co-wrote a Broadway play, Love's Lightning, with Robert Edeson.

Bibliography

  • By the Stage Door. New York, The Grafton press, 1902.

References

  1. ^ "Patterson, Ada". American National Biography. Oxford University Press. Subscription needed.
  2. ^ a b c d Bennett, Alma J. (2010). American Women Theatre Critics: Biographies and Selected Writings of Twelve Reviewers, 1753-1919. McFarland. ISBN 9780786460250.
  3. ^ Lutes, Jean Marie (2007). Front Page Girls: Women Journalists in American Culture and Fiction, 1880-1930. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801474125., page 13
  4. ^ Lutes, Jean Marie (2007). Front Page Girls: Women Journalists in American Culture and Fiction, 1880-1930. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801474125., page 65