Ada Patterson

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

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
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJournalist

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. 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
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