Kathleen Blake Coleman National Historic Person (1856-1915)

Kathleen Blake Coleman was designated a national historic person in July 2011.

Historical importance: Innovative editor of the woman's page of the Toronto Daily Mail (after 1895, the Mail and Empire) from 1889 to 1911

Commemorative 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.