Mildred Wirt Benson Gravesite

Mildred Wirt Benson earned her bachelor's degree in English at the University of Iowa in 1925. In 1927, she became the first person to earn a Master's degree in Journalism from the school. She married Asa Wirt of the Associated Press in 1928, and they had a daughter, Peggy Wirt, in 1936. Mildred remarried after her husband's death in 1947, to George A. Benson of the Toledo Blade.

Mildred Wirt Benson is perhaps best known for her work on the popular Nancy Drew Mysteries series. Writing under pen name Carolyn Keene, Benson penned 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books and is credited with creating the character's spunky personality. Later, she would write the Penny Parker series and the "Ruth Darrow" stories under her own name, both of which she is said to have preferred to the Nancy Drew books. Benson was officially outed as a Nancy Drew author in a 1980 court case in which she was called to testify. In 2001, Benson was awarded the Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the Nancy Drew series. Overall Benson is credited with writing 135 books.

Carolyne Keene, Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6456163/carolyn-keene.

White, Caitlin. Nancy Drew's Writer Was As Gutsy As Her Heroine, Bustle. July 17th 2015. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://www.bustle.com/articles/97957-original-nancy-drew-ghostwriter-mildred-wirt-benson-was-a-feminist-badass-who-deserves-to-be-championed.

Martin, Douglas. Mildred Benson Is Dead at 96; Wrote 23 Nancy Drew Books, New York Times. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/books/mildred-benson-is-dead-at-96-wrote-23-nancy-drew-books.html.

Mildred Wirt Benson, Writing University. December 9th 2011. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20151217144423/http://www.writinguniversity.org/author/mildred-wirt-benson#footnote5_jj8xt4h.

Martinelli, Marissa. The Original Ghostwriter Behind Nancy Drew Was One of The Most Interesting YA Writers of All Time, Slate. July 14th 2015. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://slate.com/culture/2015/07/nancy-drew-ghostwriter-and-journalist-mildred-wirt-benson-flew-airplanes-explored-jungles-and-wrote-hundreds-of-children-s-books.html.