Myra Hunt Kingman (November 2, 1873 – June 28, 1922), for much of her adult life known as Myra Kingman Miller or Myra Kingman Merriman, was an American journalist and clubwoman, President of the National Federation of College Women from 1915 to 1922.

Early life

Myra Hunt Kingman was born in

Tremont, Illinois Tremont is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,236 at the 2010 census. Tremont is located 14 miles southeast of Peoria. History Tremont was also host to Abraham Lincoln during his travels as a lawyer befo ...

, the daughter of Lysander Philip Kingman and Susan Wilde Pettes Hunt Kingman.

Career

As a journalist in the midwest, Myra Kingman was Sunday editor of the ''Peoria Daily Transcript'', on staff as a special correspondent at the ''Chicago Chronicle'', and secretary of the Northwest Editorial Association. After moving to California in 1894, she wrote for the ''Long Beach Mirror''. In 1908, she established the first movie theatre for children, in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

."Mrs. M. K. Merriman Dies"
''New York Times'' (July 1, 1922): 10. As a clubwoman, Myra Kingman Merriman was president of the National Federation of College Women from 1915 to 1922, and chaired the Better Films Committee of the National Council of Women from 1918 to 1922."Myra Kingman Merriman"
''Musical Monitor'' (August 1922): 347. The Better Films Committee endorsed films the considered wholesome and fit for family viewing, and promoted the exhibition of such films. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she was appointed by

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

to an advisory board in the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

. After the war she organized a Foreign Film Unit of American women, showing instructional films about hygiene, public health, cooking, farming, and other topics in France, Russia, Italy and elsewhere, to support reconstruction in war-affected places. They also provided a program of children's films for orphanages. She testified at a Congressional hearing on women's citizenship and marriage to foreigners, in 1917, saying "I think the law should be just and should be equal to both men and women in every country." In 1920 she led the American delegation at the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., wit ...

meeting in

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, while she was on her honeymoon."Merriman-Miller"
''The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association'' (September 1920): 44.

Personal life

Myra Kingman married twice, first to George Alonzo Miller in 1895; they had a daughter, Susan, born in 1896, and George Miller died in 1916. She married her second husband, Dr. Josiah Charles Merriman, a chemistry professor, in 1920. She died two years later, aged 48 years."Mrs. Myra Miller Weds Dr. Merriman"
''New York Times'' (August 7, 1920): 5.

References

External links

Letter from Myra Kingman Merriman to W. E. B. Du Bois (June 30, 1921)
in the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingman, Myra 1873 births 1922 deaths American women journalists American women in World War I Clubwomen