Zilpha Carruthers Franklin, from a 1922 publication
Born
Zilpha Mary Carruthers
September 1, 1897
Denver, Colorado
Died
June 6, 1975
Washington, D.C.
Occupation(s)
Writer, editor, federal official
Zilpha Mary Carruthers Franklin (September 1, 1897 – June 6, 1975) was an American writer, editor, and federal official. In 1943, she was named
chief information officer of the
Federal Security Agency, the first woman to hold that title at a federal agency.[1]
Early life and education
Zilpha Mary Carruthers was born in
Denver, Colorado,[2] the daughter of Arthur Chapin Carruthers and Bertha Wilcox Carruthers. She graduated from the
University of Colorado in 1918,[3] with further studies at the
University of Geneva and the
London School of Economics. She earned a master's degree from the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1925, with a master's thesis titled "Through John Bull's Looking Glass: A Study of the Relations Between England and America as Reflected in the Periodical Press between 1830 and 1840."[4] She held a Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship in 1922.[5][6]
Career
Franklin was a freelance journalist as a young woman, based in New York City. She was an editorial assistant at the American Child Health Association in the mid-1920s. She edited Child Study, the monthly magazine of the Child Study Association of America, from 1928 to 1935. In 1943, Franklin was named chief information officer of the Federal Security Agency, and remained in that position until 1953, when she resigned after disagreements with
Oveta Culp Hobby, and took a public relations job in
Toledo, Ohio.[1][7] From 1954 to 1962, she worked for the
National Health Council on promoting health careers.[2][8]
Carruthers married journalist Ben A. Franklin in 1923. They had a son, Ben, who became a reporter for The New York Times,[29] and a daughter, Zilpha Jane.[30] Her husband died in 1935, when their children will both young.[31][32] She died in 1975, at the age of 77.[2][33]
^"Pulitzer Travelling Scholarships". The Columbia Journalist, 1913-1923. Alumni Association of the School of Journalism, Columbia University. 1923. p. 17.
^Kluttz, Jerry (March 22, 1953).
"The Federal Diary". The Washington Post. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2023 – via Internet Archive.