Pioneering Female Journalist Jean Sprain Wilson Dies at 86

Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:00 am

By: Jean Sprain Wilson, a pioneering woman journalist whose interview subjects were as varied as Princess Grace Kelley and murderer Charles Manson, has died. She was 86.

Wilson's family says she died Sunday of heart failure in Rockville.

In 1944, Wilson became the first woman at Ohio State University to be named editor-in-chief of the school newspaper.

Her professional journalism career included working for the Detroit Free Press, NBC News and The Associated Press. Wilson's work included everything from covering First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to producing a documentary on the politics of oil in Iran.

A native of Hamilton, Ohio, Wilson is survived by a daughter, a son and three grandchildren.

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Pioneering Female Journalist Jean Sprain Wilson Dies at 86

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