Katharine Graham

Date of Birth: June 16, 1917

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Date of Death: July 17, 2001

Biography

Katharine Graham, born Katharine Meyer on June 16, 1917, in New York City, was an influential American businesswoman best known for her role as the publisher of The Washington Post. Graham was a pivotal figure in the transformation of The Washington Post from a mediocre newspaper to a publication renowned for its investigative journalism, particularly during the Watergate scandal which ultimately led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Her leadership and decisions significantly impacted American journalism and the media landscape. Katharine was the daughter of Eugene Meyer, a financier and public official, and Agnes Ernst Meyer, a journalist and philanthropist. She grew up in a privileged environment and was educated at prestigious institutions such as Vassar College and the University of Chicago. In 1940, she married Philip Graham, who later became the publisher of The Washington Post. After Philip’s tragic suicide in 1963, Katharine took over the reins of the newspaper, a move that was considered groundbreaking at the time as it was rare for women to hold such positions. Under her leadership, The Washington Post won numerous Pulitzer Prizes and became a major player in the American media. Graham’s memoir, “Personal History,” published in 1997, won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1998. She remains an iconic figure in the history of American journalism.

5 Interesting Facts about Katharine Graham

1. Katharine Graham was the first female Fortune 500 CEO.

2. She guided The Washington Post through the publication of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the U.S. government’s secret history of the Vietnam War.

3. Her memoir, “Personal History,” won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1998.

4. She was a close friend of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

5. Graham was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Katharine Graham

1. “The power is always there. The trick is to learn how to use it without it using you.”

2. “To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?”

3. “No one can avoid aging, but aging productively is something else.”

4. “Once, power was considered a masculine attribute. In fact, power has no sex.”

5. “Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

At the height of her career, Katharine Graham’s net worth was estimated to be around $250 million.

Children

Katharine Graham had four children with her husband, Philip Graham: 1. Lally Weymouth – Journalist and Senior Associate Editor of The Washington Post. 2. Donald E. Graham – Former publisher of The Washington Post and CEO of Graham Holdings Company. 3. William Welsh Graham – Businessman and philanthropist. 4. Stephen Meyer Graham – Entrepreneur.