Born of a long line of privileged risk-takers, Katharine Graham’s rise through publishing was undoubtedly paved by her family’s wealth and status. However, not one to rest comfortably on inherited laurels, Graham used her own strength and acumen to revive a struggling paper and push forward causes that were close to her heart.
She assumed leadership of the Washington Post directly after its then-publisher, Phillip Graham, committed suicide via shotgun. Katharine and Phillip Graham had been married for 23 years, many of which he spent belittling her and mired in alcoholism and extramarital affairs. After his death, Katharine became president and de facto publisher for several years. In 1972, Graham became the first female CEO on the Fortune 500 list, maintaining this role throughout the 1970s.
Graham led the Post through Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. The Post famously played a major role in exposing the Watergate conspiracy and President Richard Nixon’s involvement in it, ultimately leading to his resignation. The Post’s role in Watergate also opened up the conversation surrounding how much journalism should become involved in matters of national security. In a speech given in 1988, Graham reflected on this, saying, "We live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things the general public does not need to know, and shouldn't. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows."
Next year, a commemorative stamp celebrating her accomplishments in publishing and as a woman leader will be issued in her honor. The 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, a Federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, is also being commemorated by the USPS, as well as musician Pete Seeger, sculptor Edmonia Lewis, Native American Modernist painter George Morrison, and marine biologist Eugenie Clark.