Lorena Hickok | |
|---|---|
 Hickok (far right) with Eleanor Roosevelt (2nd from left) in 1933 | |
| Born | Lorena Alice Hickok March 7, 1893 East Troy, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | May 1, 1968 (aged 75) Hyde Park, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Rhinebeck Cemetery (Hyde Park, New York, U.S.) |
| Other names |
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| Occupation(s) | journalist, public relations official |
| Known for | journalism, relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt |
| Parents |
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Lorena Alice "Hick" Hickok (March 7, 1893 – May 1, 1968) was an American journalist and long-term friend and possibly romantic partner[1] of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.[2]
After an unhappy and unsettled childhood, Hickok found success as a reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune and the Associated Press (AP), becoming America's best-known female reporter by 1932. After covering Franklin D. Roosevelt's first presidential campaign, Hickok struck up a close relationship with the soon-to-be First Lady, and travelled with her extensively. The nature of their relationship has been widely debated, especially after 3000 of their mutual letters were discovered, confirming some level of physical intimacy. Hickok was known to be a lesbian. The closeness of their relationship compromised Hickok's objectivity, leading her to resign from the AP and work as chief investigator for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). She later promoted the 1939 New York World's Fair, and then served as executive secretary of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee, living mostly at the White House, where Hickok had a conjoining room with the First Lady. Hickok was the author of several books.
- ^ "Letters by Eleanor Roosevelt Detail Friendship With Lorena Hickok". The New York Times. October 21, 1979.
- ^ "Lorena Hickok (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.