19 Facts About Katharine Whitehorn

Katharine Elizabeth Whitehorn was a British journalist, columnist, author and radio presenter.

Katharine Whitehorn was the first woman to have a column in The Observer, which ran from 1963 to 1996 and from 2011 to 2017.

Katharine Whitehorn was the first female rector of a university in Scotland.

Katharine Whitehorn's family was on the left of the political spectrum and nonconformist, with her father being a conscientious objector and her mother having secured a place to study at the University of Cambridge.

Katharine Whitehorn went on to read English at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Katharine Whitehorn started her career in journalism covering fashion, and was a sub-editor for the Woman's Own women's magazine in 1956, when the Picture Post photographer Bert Hardy asked her to model for him.

Katharine Whitehorn photographed her for a story on loneliness in London, and one photograph of her sitting by a fire with a cigarette, as if thinking to write an article instead of being lonely, became an advertisement for the energy drink Lucozade.

Katharine Whitehorn was promoted to an Observer columnist in 1963, becoming the first woman to write a column in that newspaper.

Katharine Whitehorn's column proved popular with readers, and she continued to write it until 1996, working partly from home, which was unusual at the time.

Katharine Whitehorn's column was reinstated in The Observer magazine by John Mulholland in 2011 and has appeared until 2017.

Katharine Whitehorn later published a series of books, How to Survive.

In 2009, Katharine Whitehorn began presenting some editions of the short philosophical Friday evening programme on Radio 4 entitled A Point of View.

Katharine Whitehorn was interviewed by National Life Stories in 2009 for the 'Oral History of the British Press' collection held by the British Library.

Katharine Whitehorn was a member of an advisory panel to the BBC, which reviewed television's effects on society.

From 1982 to 1985, Katharine Whitehorn served as the Rector of the University of St Andrews: the first woman rector of a Scottish university.

Katharine Whitehorn served as vice-president of the Patients Association, a charity advocating for patients' rights, and advised the Institute for Global Ethics.

Katharine Whitehorn was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to journalism.

Katharine Whitehorn died on 8 January 2021, at a care home in north London.

Katharine Whitehorn was 92, and had been diagnosed with COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in England in the time leading up to her death.