Sonia Tomara (26 February 1897– 7 September 1982) was a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n-born journalist who is regarded as the first female war correspondent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Life

Sonia was born to Michael and Olga Mamontoff Tomara on 26 February 1897 in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

where she graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the Moscow University for Women. In 1920, she fled with her mother to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

where she got employed as a political reporter and editor for '' Le Matin'' until in 1928 when she was recruited by the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

''. During the 1930s, Sonia covered major events including the rise of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and the

battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

following her return to Europe. In 1940, she returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

after the 1940 armistice. In 1942, she was elected president of the

New York Newspaper Women's Club The Newswomen's Club of New York is a nonprofit organization that focuses on women working in the media in the New York City metropolitan area. Founded in 1922 as the New York Newspaper Woman's Club, it included Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Rogers Reid ...

. She was accredited as a United States war correspondent later in the year and was assigned to the Far East to cover political stories in the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was off ...

. Jean Lyons of the ''Chinese News Bureau'' served as acting club president while she was away. Sonia moved to China in May 1943 where she covered Nationalist Chinese military actions against Japan on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...

. She later moved to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

, covering the Allied Forces Headquarters in North Africa. In 1944, Sonia Tomara returned to Paris and resigned from the ''New York Herald Times'' following her marriage to

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

in 1947.

Death

In August 1982, Sonia was hospitalized after suffering a stroke. She died on 7 September at the Princeton Medical Center, New Jersey, U.S.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomara, Sonia 1897 births 1982 deaths Journalists from New York City White Russian emigrants to France French emigrants to the United States