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An Evening with Helen Thomas, longtime dean of the White House press corps and author of several books on the White House and American politics, will be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 8, in the Cape Henlopen High School auditorium.
Admission is free, but donations will be taken.
Her talk will be followed by a question and answer period and a book signing. Copies of her books will be available for purchase.
Helen Thomas was born in Winchester, Ky., on Aug. 4, 1920. She was reared in Detroit, Mich., where she attended public schools, and later graduated from Wayne State University. The year after college Thomas served as a copy girl on the now-defunct Washington Daily News, and she joined United Press International (UPI) in 1943.
For 12 years Thomas had to be at work at 5:30 a.m. to write radio news for UPI. She later had several beats around the federal government, including the Department of Justice; FBI; Department of Health, Education and Welfare; and Capitol Hill before she began covering President-elect John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Thomas went to the White House in January 1961, as a member of the UPI team headed by the late Merriman Smith, and was there until May 2000. In July 2000, Thomas became a columnist for the Hearst News Service where she continues today.
During the years she covered Kennedy, Thomas was the first woman to close a presidential news conference with the traditional “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Thomas served as president of the Women’s National Press Club in 1959-60, and she was the first woman officer of the National Press Club after it opened its doors to women members for the first time in 90 years. In addition, Thomas became the first woman officer of the White House Correspondents’ Association in its 50 years of existence, and served as its first woman president in 1975-76.
Thomas also became the first woman member of the Gridiron Club in its history, and the first woman to be elected president in 1993.
In 1968 Thomas was named the “Newspaper Woman of Washington” by the American Newspaper Woman’s Club, and in 1975, she was named the “Woman of the Year” in communications by Ladies Home Journal.
She has also received the Matrix Award from the Women in Communications, and the World Almanac named Helen Thomas as one of the 25 most influential women in America.
Thomas has received numerous honorary doctorate degrees, some of the most recent from Brown University, St. Bonaventure University, Michigan State University and the George Washington University.
In addition, she has been a commencement speaker at dozens of colleges and has delivered lectures on the White House and the presidency throughout the country.
Helen Thomas traveled around the world several times with Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton, and covered every economic summit.
In February 1972, she was the only newspaperwoman to travel with President Nixon to China during his breakthrough trip.
Since then, she has been to China on many subsequent presidential visits.
Thomas continues to ask her pointed questions of President George W. Bush and his press secretary on a daily basis.
In September 1971, Pat Nixon scooped Helen Thomas by announcing her engagement to the Associated Press’ retiring White House correspondent, Douglas Cornell, at a White House party hosted by the president in honor of Cornell. The late Cornell and Thomas were married on Oct. 16, 1971.
Thomas is the author of the book, “Dateline: White House,” and her memoir, “Front Row at the White House.” She is also the author of “Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President,” and her latest adult book, “Watchdogs of Democracy?” about how journalism has changed was released in June 2006.
The event is sponsored by Friends of Helen Thomas. For information, call 302-983-2759.
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