Charlotte Curtis

Charlotte Curtis
Born	December 19, 1928 Chicago, Illinois
Died	April 16, 1987(1987-04-16)(aged 58)
Occupation	Journalist, editor
Alma mater	Columbus School for Girls, Vassar College

Charlotte Murray Curtis(December 19, 1928 – April 16, 1987) was an American journalist, columnist and editor atThe New York Times.

Career

Curtis worked as areporterand societyeditorfor theColumbus Citizenfor 11 years, and atThe New York Timesfor 25 years. She began her career at theTimesas a fashion reporter in 1961, and two years later was assigned to the "society beat," rising to editor of the Family/Style section by 1965. She transformed the traditional women's pages through her emphasis on current news and "lively writing." In 1974, she became an associate editor of theTimesin charge of theOp-EdPage, a position she held until 1982. Her name appeared on theTimesmasthead,the first woman to be included with the senior editors. Her column of social commentary ran from 1982 to June 1986.

At theColumbus Citizen,Curtis honed her skills as a writer, analyst and researcher, sometimes using humor "to the dismay of her subjects." While she was editor at theTimes,she wrote articles forHarper'sandRolling Stone,and a book,The Rich and Other Atrocities,published byHarper and Rowin 1976.

Legacy

JournalistEmily Yoffedescribes her as "both the first woman on the masthead ofThe New York Timesand one of the last women to always be the only woman in the room in the world of big-timejournalism",and says she was" one of those rare print journalists who are as famous as the famous people she profiled ".

Personal life

Curtis was born December 19, 1928, the daughter of George Morris andLucile Atcherson Curtis,inChicago,Illinois.She graduated fromColumbus School for Girlsand attendedVassar College,majoring in United States history.Curtis was married twice, first in 1950 to one Dwight L. Fullerton, whom she later divorced. In 1972 she was married to Dr. William E. Hunt, a professor and director of neurologic surgery at the College of Medicine atOhio State University.

Curtis died of cancer on April 16, 1987, at Ohio State University Hospital at the age of 58.

Further reading

• Greenwald, Marilyn S. (May 31, 1999).A Woman of the Times: journalism, feminism, and the career of Charlotte Curtis.Ohio University Press.ISBN978-0-8214-1265-7.
• Ware, Susan; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (2004).Notable American women: a biographical dictionary completing the twentieth century.Harvard University Press. pp. 145–.ISBN978-0-674-01488-6.
• Charlotte Curtis on the Arts & PoliticsonYouTube

External links

• Papers of Charlotte Curtis, 1928-1987 (inclusive), 1950-1981 (bulk).Schlesinger Library,Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.