Mildred Wirt Benson
| Mildred Wirt Benson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mildred Augustine July 10, 1905 Ladora, Iowa, United States |
| Died | May 28, 2002 (aged 96) Toledo, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Author |
| Genre | Children's books |
| Spouses | Asa Wirt (d.1947), George A. Benson (d.1959) |
| Children | Peggy Wirt |
Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American journalist and author of children's books. She is best remembered for writing some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries and for creating the detective's adventurous personality. Benson wrote under the Stratemeyer Syndicate pen name, Carolyn Keene, from 1929 to 1947 and contributed to 23 of the first 30 originally published Nancy Drew mysteries which became bestsellers.
Benson was born Mildred Augustine in Ladora, Iowa to Lillian and Dr. J. L. Augustine. Benson earned her degree in English from the University of Iowa in 1925 in just three years. She later returned to the University and in 1927, became the first student there to earn a master's degree in journalism. She was married to Asa Wirt, who worked for the Associated Press. The couple had a daughter together, Peggy Wirt, who was born in 1936. After Wirt's death in 1947, she married George A. Benson, editor of the Toledo Blade newspaper of Toledo, Ohio. He died in 1959.
Benson worked for 58 years as a journalist, writing a weekly column for the Toledo Blade, and as a writer of many books. She continued to work full-time (mostly writing obituaries) until a few months before her death. She died from lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 96.
Benson was a great adventurer, making numerous trips to Central America, traversing the jungle in a Jeep, canoeing down rivers, visiting Mayan sites, flying airplanes and witnessing archaeological excavations.
After receiving her undergraduate degree, Benson wrote for the society pages of the Clinton (Iowa) Herald. In the spring of 1926, Benson applied to an ad posted by the Stratemeyer Syndicate looking for ghostwriters. After getting the job, her first assignment was to write text for the book, "Ruth Fielding and Her Great Scenario" under the pseudonym of Alice B. Emerson.
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