26 Facts About Martha Mitchell

Martha Elizabeth Beall Mitchell was the wife of John N Mitchell, United States Attorney General under President Richard Nixon.

Martha Elizabeth Beall Jennings Mitchell was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on September 2,1918, the only child of cotton broker George V Beall and drama teacher Arie Beall Ferguson.

Martha Mitchell recalled later in life that as a child she mostly played with the children of her African-American "mammy", who lived with the Beall family, because other families lived at a distance.

Martha Mitchell was fascinated by the arts, and dreamt of becoming an actress, attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and studied acting under Maude Adams, but her family would not allow it.

Martha Mitchell eventually transferred to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, joined Chi Omega and transferred the following year to the University of Miami.

Martha Mitchell ultimately received a Bachelor of Arts in history.

Martha Mitchell returned to Pine Bluff in 1945 and, after World War II, she began work as a secretary at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.

Martha Mitchell was transferred to Washington, DC.

Martha Mitchell once said as soon as she met John N Mitchell that she was "impressed with his suaveness and intellect,".

Martha Mitchell first came to national attention after she remarked to a television reporter that the Washington, DC, peace demonstrations held in November 1969 reminded her husband of the Russian Revolution.

Martha Mitchell had the custom of having an evening drink and then calling reporters with political gossip or information she had gleaned while rifling through her husband's papers or eavesdropping on his conversations.

Meanwhile, John Martha Mitchell enlisted their security agent, former FBI agent Steve King, to prevent her from learning about the break-in or contacting reporters.

Martha Mitchell unsuccessfully made attempts to contact her husband by phone, eventually telling one of his aides that her next call would be to the press.

Martha Mitchell informed Thomas of her intention to leave her husband until he resigned from CRP.

When Thomas called back, the hotel operator told her that Martha Mitchell was "indisposed" and would not be able to talk.

Nixon aides, in an effort to discredit Martha Mitchell, told the press that she had a drinking problem, which was true.

Martha Mitchell believed him to be a "fall guy" and encouraged him to turn against the President.

Martha Mitchell deserves a much bigger role in the way we tell the story of Watergate.

Martha Mitchell was Presbyterian and, while in New York, attended Marble Collegiate Church.

Martha Mitchell began to write her memoirs in 1973, but fearing it would mean she would get no money from her husband, never signed a contract.

Martha Mitchell's son cared for her and served as her occasional spokesman.

Martha Mitchell was buried in the Bellwood Cemetery in Pine Bluff with her mother and grandparents.

Martha Mitchell was known for her glamorous but "girly" fashion.

Martha Mitchell brought to [the Nixon Administration] a welcome touch of zaniness and genuine good humor.

In 2022 Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein confirmed that in the spring of 1974 Martha Mitchell had invited them to examine papers left behind by John Martha Mitchell in their New York apartment.

The first episode of the podcast Slow Burn, entitled "Martha Mitchell", chronicled her role in the Watergate scandal in 2017.