The Life of Marjory Stoneman Douglas

The Life Of Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Marjory was known as the "Mother of the Everglades" for fighting to save the Everglades from getting drained and destroyed.

Interesting Fact;Marjory's Mother and Father got a divorce when she was six years old and her Father moved to Florida. Partially because Marjory wanted to be close to her Mother's family, she enrolled in Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. In 1912, when she graduated from college, her Mother, Lillian, died of breast cancer. Marjory then returned to Florida at age 25 to be with her Father.

Interesting Fact:In 1915, during her first career, Marjory started working for a newspaper called "The Herald." Through her job, she became the first Floridian woman that enlisted in the navy. In 1918, she joined the Red Cross and traveled to Europe as a nurse with war relief efforts.

Interesting Fact:In 1913, Marjory married Kenneth Douglas, who was an alcoholic and went to jail for six months during their marriage for stealing objects. The marrige only lasted for 2 years. She never remarried.

Marjory Douglas was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 17th, 1890. She died at age 108 on May 14th, 1998 in Coconut Grove, Miami, FL.

A famous quote from Majory was, "I would have been very sad if I had not fought. I'd have a guilty conscience if I had been here and watched all this happen to the enviroment and not been on the right side."

In 1947, Marjory became the spokeswoman for the Everglades. She became an accomplished author by writing "The Everglades: River of Grass." Her 2nd career as an activist, spokeswoman and grande dame of conservation spanned the next 51 years.

Through all her work, Marjory intensified regional, national, and international understanding of the south Florida ecosystem. In her lifetime, the Everglades went from a wilderness on the brink of destruction, to a National Park.