Marguerite Higgins

Marguerite Higgins (1920-1966) was a trailblazing American journalist and war correspondent who became one of the first women to report on frontline combat. Born in Hong Kong, she developed a passion for journalism early and worked her way up through the New York Herald Tribune during World War II, eventually becoming the paper's chief foreign correspondent. She earned widespread acclaim—and the Pulitzer Prize in 1951—for her courageous reporting from the Korean War, where she competed with male colleagues while facing considerable gender-based resistance from military authorities. Higgins refused to be sidelined and insisted on firsthand access to combat zones, ultimately gaining respect for her fearless journalism and thorough reporting. Beyond Korea, she covered numerous international conflicts and crises throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Her determination to report from dangerous frontlines despite institutional barriers against women in war journalism established her as a groundbreaking figure. Higgins' legacy extends beyond her reporting; she challenged gender norms in the male-dominated field of war journalism and paved the way for future female correspondents. She died tragically in 1966 from complications of disease contracted while reporting in Africa.