Leckie, Katherine, -1930

Katherine Leckie (d. 1930) was a suffragist, journalist and press agent who founded a feminist editorial consulting and lecture bureau in New York City.

From the description of Katherine Leckie papers, 1914-1925. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 84671748

Katherine Leckie, a journalist, editorial consultant, and press agent, was born in Kingston, Ontario. Over the course of her career as a journalist she reported for the Chicago Chronicle, Chicago American, and the New York Evening Journal . She held editorial positions with the Delineator in 1907-1908, Woman's Magazine from 1908 to 1912, and The Housekeeper in 1913.

Following her career as a writer and editor, she founded her own New York-based editorial consulting and public relations firm, through which she met the Hungarian pacifist Rosika Schwimmer in 1914. Leckie managed Schwimmer's 1914-1915 United States lecture tour, contracting with women's clubs and pacifist organizations in over twenty states across the country to schedule Schwimmer as a speaker. The 1915 season was cut short, however, due to both women's attendance at the International Congress of Women at The Hague, and their involvement with the Henry Ford Peace Expedition of 1915-1916.

Leckie was hired as public relations and press manager for the Ford Peace Expedition, although her duties stretched far beyond public relations. In particular, she contributed to the process of selecting and courting guests for the expedition, and brought on the four female journalists who accompanied the voyage.

Following her time with the Ford Expedition, Leckie served as organizer of news distribution for the Conservation Division of the Food Administration in Washington D.C. in 1917, and the director of publicity for the Y.W.C.A. Free Milk for France campaign of 1918.

Katherine Leckie passed away in 1930.

From the guide to the Katherine Leckie papers, 1914-1925, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)