Martha Gellhorn Biography

Martha Gellhorn

Gellhorn dropped out of Bryn Mawr College in 1927 to become a writer. The New Republic accepted a few of her articles, but Gellhorn wanted to become a foreign correspondent. She moved to Paris to work for the United Press bureau and became active in the pacifist movement. After reporting on the Depression for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Gellhorn became friends with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1927, Collier's Weekly sent Gellhorn to cover the Spanish Civil War. While in Spain she met Ernest Hemingway, becoming his third wife in 1940. She also traveled to Germany and reported on the rise of Hitler and the outbreak of World War II. She continued to report throughout the war, impersonating a stretcher carrier to witness the D-Day landings. After World War II, Gellhorn covered international affairs, including the Vietnam War, for The Atlantic Monthly. Gellhorn also wrote four novels and a book about her life with Hemingway.