Mary Thom (June 3, 1944 – April 26, 2013) was an American

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, writer, and editor. She was one of the founding editors of ''

Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...

'' magazine, and was an editor for the magazine for 20 years.

Early life and education

Thom was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1944, and raised in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. Her father, Paul, was an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who worked in the

steel industry Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high elastic modulus, yield strength, fracture strength and low raw material cost, steel is one of the ...

. Her mother, Susan, was a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

. Thom listened to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and enjoyed

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, encouraged by her mother. She credited these two interests at triggering her interest in

activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

. She graduated from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

in 1966. While there, she became involved in the

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

movements. She was a

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

for the

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and later, the Student National Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emer ...

. Thom also joined the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) during this time. Thom entered graduate school in 1966 at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, in pursuit of a PhD in European history but left in 1968 after the tumultuous student strike that began there in April, 1968.

Career

After leaving Columbia, Thom stayed in Manhattan, and for the next three years, worked as an associate editor at ''Facts on File'' and, in 1971, volunteered for the newly founded

National Women's Political Caucus The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) is an organization which was founded in 1971 by leaders of the women's liberation movement to promote women's participation in government. The group describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots or ...

. Thom joined ''

'' in 1972, first as a volunteer, then a researcher, and then as an editor. She became executive editor in 1990. When she started working at ''Ms.'' she created an

evaluation In common usage, evaluation is a systematic determination and assessment of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of Standardization, standards. It can assist an organization, program, design, project or any o ...

system about

politicians A politician is a person who participates in policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles or duties tha ...

. It was a feature in the magazine. While at ''Ms.'', Thom edited the book, ''Letters to Ms''. In 1992, Thom left ''Ms.'' as the executive editor of the magazine. She wrote a book about the history of the magazine, ''Inside Ms. 25 Years of the Magazine and the Feminist Movement.'' in 1997. After she left to become a freelance writer and editor, Thom maintained an association with ''Ms.'' until 2001. She also co-wrote a book about

Bella Abzug Bella Abzug (; née Savitzky; July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998), nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria ...

with Suzanne Braun Levine. At the time of her death, she was an editor-in-chief of the

Women's Media Center Women's Media Center (WMC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit women's organization in the United States founded in 2005 by writers and activists Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem.

, a think-tank group.

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

called her "one of the women's movement's best editors."

Later life and death

Thom lived and worked in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and never married. She enjoyed

motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

. Thom was killed in a motorcycle accident in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

on April 26, 2013. Thom had picked up her 1996

Honda Magna The Honda Magna is a cruiser motorcycle made from 1982 to 1988 and 1994 to 2003 and was the second Honda to use their new V4 engine shared with the VF750S Sabre and a few years later a related engine was fitted to the VF750F 'Interceptor', the l ...

750 from winter storage when she veered into traffic upon entering a highway. She struck a vehicle and was struck by another.

Legacy

The Women's Media Center now sponsors the Mary Thom Art of Editing Award.

Works

* * *

References

External links

Mary Thom papers
at the

Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, a ...

, Smith College Special Collections
Official profile from the
Women's Media Center
with Mary Thom
by Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s, June 27, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Mary 1944 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers American editors American feminist writers Motorcycle road incident deaths Writers from Akron, Ohio Road incident deaths in New York (state) Writers from New York City