Greenwood, Grace, 1823-1904

Sara Jane Lippincott (September 23, 1823 – April 20, 1904) was an American author, poet, correspondent, lecturer, and newspaper founder. Lippincott's accomplishments include many firsts. She was the founder of the first children's magazine in the United States, the first woman writer and reporter on the payroll of the New York Times, and one of the first women to gain access and prominence in journalism, publishing, literature and politics. As one of the first women to gain access into the Congressional press galleries, she used her questions to advocate for social reform and women's rights. She was known pseudonymously as Grace Greenwood.

A prolific author, Lippincott's best known books for children include History of My Pets (1850), Recollections of My Childhood (1851), Merrie England (1854), Stories and Legends of Travel and History (1857), Bonnie Scotland (1861), Stories of Many Lands (1866), and Stories and Sights of France and Italy (1867). Volumes for older readers include two series of collected prose writings, Greenwood Leaves (1849, 1851), Poems (1850), Haps and Mishaps of a Tour in Europe (1852), A Forest Tragedy (1856), A Record of Five Years (1867), New Life in New Lands (1873), and Victoria, Queen of England (1883).

Lippincott was connected as editor and contributor with various American magazines, as well as weekly and daily papers. She also wrote much for London journals, notably All the Year Round. For several years, she lived almost wholly in Europe, for the benefit of her greatly impaired health and for the education of her daughter. When Lippincott returned to the United States, she lived in Washington D.C. and then New York City.

Lippincott died of bronchitis in New Rochelle, New York on April 20, 1904, at age 80. Her obituary was on the front page of the New York Times, proving her importance as a literary figure in the nineteenth century.