Marjory Stoneman Douglas

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1985)

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (April 7, 1890 – May 14, 1998) was an American eminent conservationist and writer. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she was descendant of one of the founders of the Underground Railroad. After the divorce of her parents, she was raised in Taunton, Massachusetts and educated at Wellesley College. She married a newspaper editor, Kenneth Douglas, in 1914. The marriage failed, and she moved to Miami in the Fall of 1915. Her father Frank Stoneman (died Feb 1, 1941) was the first publisher of the paper that later became The Miami Herald. She joined the staff of that paper, and then served in the Red Cross in Europe during World War I. Douglas wrote dozens of short stories during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Many of these were published in The Saturday Evening Post. The best of these stories have been collected by University of Florida professor Kevin McCarthy in two edited collections: A River In Flood and Nine Florida Stories.

She was most associated with battles to save the Florida Everglades from draining and overdevelopment, during which times she organized benefits and various marches. Her book The Everglades: River of Grass, written in 1947, has gone through numerous editions. It galvanized people to protect the Everglades. At the age of 78, she founded Friends of the Everglades, an organization which is still at the forefront of Florida conservation.

Despite blindness and diminished hearing, she continued to be active into her second century, and was honored with the naming of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. (Ironically, the school is extremely close to the Everglades, and has had to face threats of sinking into the soil.) In 1993, then President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to a civilian.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas died at the age of 108 in 1998. Up until the end, her mind was sharp and she closely followed the fate of her beloved Everglades.

[edit] Reference

• Adventures in a Green World: the Story of David Fairchild and Barbour Lathrop. (Coconut Grove, Florida: Field Research Projects, 1973)

[edit] External links

• Everglades in the Time of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas A photo exhibit on Douglas, provided by the State Archives of Florida
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas - Bibliography Features books, pamphlets, plays and articles by this writer and environmentalist, cataloged by date
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas - Friends and Peers Friends and peers who help establish environmental and civic institutions.
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Everglades Biographies.
• Friends of the Everlgades The Non-Profit Environmental organization founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center Miami-Dade County Nature Center on Key Biscayne
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Web Site
• Wellesley Person of the Week, December 11, 2000