Coleman, Kathleen Blake National Historic Person
Toronto, Ontario
Kathleen Blake Coleman, ca. 1890s
(© The Carbon Studio / Library and Archives Canada | Bibliothèque et Archives Canada / PA-164916)
Address :
The Globe and Mail Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2011-07-19
Life Date:
1856 to 1915
Dates:
-
1889 to 1911
(Significant)
Other Name(s):
-
Kathleen Blake Coleman
(Designation Name)
-
Kit Coleman
(Other Name)
-
Catherine Ferguson
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
2008-083, 2009-006
Importance:
Innovative editor of the woman's page of the Toronto Daily Mail (after 1895, the Mail and Empire) from 1889 to 1911
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 234 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario
An innovative journalist, Coleman ran the “Woman’s Kingdom” pages of the former Daily Mail and then Mail and Empire in Toronto, from 1889 to 1911. Writing as “Kit,” she attracted a wide following with her outspoken, witty, and irreverent style. The first American-accredited female war correspondent, she travelled to Cuba in 1898 to cover the Spanish-American War. In 1911, she launched the successful syndicated “Kit’s Column,” delighting her readers with human-interest stories, travel, and feature articles. Refusing to limit her writing to traditional women’s subjects, this pioneer broke gender barriers in journalism.