Photos: Helen Thomas dies at 92, a pioneer for women journalists
July 20, 2013
In this Feb. 25, 2009, file photo veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas listens as White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answers her question during his daily press briefing in Washington. Thomas, the irrepressible White House correspondent who used her center, front row seat of history to grill 10 presidents, died Saturday, July 20, 2013, at the age of 92. She pushed open the doors for women at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, when at her urging, President John F. Kennedy refused to attend the 1962 dinner unless it was open to women for the first time. Thomas fought, too, for a more open presidency, resisting all moves by a succession of administrations to restrict press access. "People will never know how hard it is to get information," she told an interviewer, "especially if it's locked up behind official doors where, if politicians had their way, they'd stamp TOP SECRET on the color of the walls." (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) ( Obit Helen Thomas )
U.S. President Barack Obama answers a question from Hearst columnist Helen Thomas (L) during his first news conference as president in the East Room of the White House in Washington in this February 9, 2009 file photo. Former White House correspondent Helen Thomas, who reported on every U.S. president since John Kennedy, died on July 20, 2013 at the age of 92, The Gridiron Club and Foundation said. REUTERS/Jason Reed/Files ( PEOPLE-HELENTHOMAS/ )
Frances Lewine, left, of The Associated Press, and another reporter, Helen Thomas, ask President Kennedy for copies of his announcement pledging Federal power to preserve order and lives in Birmingham, Ala. The Chief Executive, speaking from the White House on May 12, 1963, ordered alerting of military force and preliminary steps to call out the Alabama National Guard following the outbreak of racial rioting in the Alabama city. (AP Photo/Bill Allen) ( John F Kennedy )
President Richard Nixon shares a laugh with Douglas Cornell, White House reporter for the Associated Press, right, and Helen Thomas, UPI White House reporter at an impromptu reception at night on Sept. 30, 1971 in Washington. (AP Photo) ( Richard Nixon )
First Lady Pat Nixon gives singer Stevie Wonder, who performed for some 50,000 on the Washington Monument grounds, a hug June 29, 1969. The First Lady helped launch a program of free summer enterainment in the Washington parks. Washington Mayor Walter Washington is in the background. At right taking notes is UPI correspondent Helen Thomas. (AP Photo) ( WONDER NIXON )
President Jimmy Carter and press secretary Jody Powell, right, chat with reporters while standing in the aisle of the presidential aircraft, Air Force One prior to landing at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland , Oct. 20, 1979. Carter was returning to Washington after attending the dedication of the John F. Kennedy presidential library in Boston. The president said that he enjoyed seeing the library and felt that politically, he is as close to John F. Kennedy as is the late president’s brother, Sen. Edward Kennedy. Reporters seated at left are Sam Donaldson and Helen Thomas. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi) ( Jimmy Carter )
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 19: This file photo shows reporter Helen Thomas as she questions former US President Ronald Reagan during a press conference at the White House 19 March,1987 in Washington, DC. This was the first press conference that Reagan had held since 19 November 1986, six days before the disclosure that profits from arm sales to Iran were diverted to the Contras. DON RYPKA/AFP/Getty Images ( APW2001032387750 )
President Ronald Reagan greets Associated Press White House reporter Jim Gerstenzang, at right, and reporter Helen Thomas, United Press International, center, before his first interview April 13, 1981 since being shot on March 30, 1981 in Washington. This meeting took place in the Treaty Room of the White House. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma) ( Ronald Reagan White House 1981 )
President George H. Bush, with Secretary of State James Baker III, seated looking on left, tell members of the press on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 1989, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington of his agenda at the upcoming summit in Malta this weekend. Bush insists his shipboard summit with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev will yield no deals and no surprises. Reporter Helen Thomas in red dress at right. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma) ( George H. Bush )
WASHINGTON, : In this 30 April 1998 file photo, US President Bill Clinton answers a question from veteran United Press International (UPI) reporter Helen Thomas, during a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC. Thomas, 79, who has been covering the White House for UPI since the early 1960's, said 16 May 2000 that she is resigning from UPI. The news wire was sold earlier by current Saudi owner Worldwide News to News World Communications, a group which has ties to the Unification Church of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images ( APW2000051619956 )
WASHINGTON, : Smoke billows from candles on a birthday cake that have been blown out by US President Bill Clinton (L) and UPI reporter Helen Thomas (R) during a surprise 75th birthday party for Thomas in the Briefing Room at the White House 04 August. Vice President Al Gore (rear) was also in attendance. PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images ( APW2002053051559 )
President Bill Clinton ÒinterviewsÓ UPI White House correspondent Helen Thomas in the White House briefing room in Washington on August 4, 1995. The president joined reporters in the briefing room during a 75th birthday party for Thomas. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson) ( President Bill Clinton )
WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 7: White House correspondent Helen Thomas gets out of a utility vehicle after catching a ride from the front gate to the briefing room at the White House February 7, 2003 in Washington, DC. An overnight snowstorm left four-six inches of snow in the Washington, DC area. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) ( 1763962MW004_snow )
In this Aug. 2, 2006 file photo, President Bush, right, greets veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas during the final briefing in the press briefing room in the West Wing of the White House in Washington before its renovation. Thomas abruptly retired Monday, according to her employer, Hearst News Service. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) ( Thomas Israel Remarks )
Former ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson, left, smiles as he embraces veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas during a farewell to the cramped and worn White House press briefing room that is being closed for renovations, in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006. The current briefing room dates to the 1970's, when Richard Nixon ordered an indoor swimming pool covered over. But seats are broken, walls are crumbling and the air conditioning's long overdue for replacement. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ( BUSH GOODBYE WEST WING )
In this photo taken Oct. 16, 2007, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas smiles as she leaves the White House after attending a briefing. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. A friend said Thomas died at her apartment in Washington on Saturday morning. Thomas made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old. She used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents _ often to their discomfort and was not shy about sharing her opinions. She was persistent to the point of badgering; one White House press secretary described her questioning as "torture" _ and he was one of her fans. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) ( Obit Helen Thomas )
ABC Television newsman San Donaldson questions White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry during the daily White House briefing in the White House briefing room Monday, Jan. 12, 1998. Donaldson returned to the White House beat after a nine-year absence. Helen Thomas, veteran UPI correspondent and dean of the White House press corps, looks on alongside. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ( DONALDSON ABC )
Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas, left, smiles while New York university President John Sexton bestows an honorary degree on her at the NYU commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) ( Clinton Commencement )
In this Oct, 25, 2006 file photo, Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas arrives early and waits for a presidential event in the East Room of the White House. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. Thomas made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old. She used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents _ often to their discomfort and was not shy about sharing her opinions. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) ( Obit Helen Thomas )
FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2008 file photo veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas is helped to her front row seat in the White House Brady Press Briefing Room in Washington, as she returns after a recent illness. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. She made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old. Thomas used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents _ often to their discomfort and was not shy about sharing her opinions. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) ( Obit Helen Thomas )
In this July 11, 2007, file photo veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas, center, from Hearst Newspapers, sits in her assigned center, front row seat before the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) ( Obit Helen Thomas )
Washington, UNITED STATES: Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas (2nd R) reads her notes as she prepares for the final press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House 02 August 2006, in Washington,DC. The Briefing Room, as well as the press working spaces, are being renovated. Reporters who cover the White House are being evicted this week from their dingy, depressing digs in what was once the West Wing swimming pool area, for what is set to be a months-long renovation. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images ( Was479604 )
WASHINGTON - AUGUST 04: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) brings surprise birthday cupcakes to celebrate the birthday of White House veteran correspondent Helen Thomas (L) in the White House briefing room August 4, 2009 in Washington, DC. August 4 is also the birthday of President Obama. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Barack Obama;Helen Thomas ( 58047133 )
The seat of former White House correspondent Helen Thomas, front row center, is seen in the James Brady Press Briefing Room in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Saturday, July 31, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) ( White House Helen Thomas Seat )
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