Ruth Finney

Finney was born on March 6, 1898, in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents were John W. and Mary Morrison Finney. After growing up in Downieville and Sacramento, California, Finney graduated from the San Jose Normal School with a teaching certificate in 1918 and worked for three months as a substitute teacher. == Career ==

Finney became a reporter for The Sacramento Star in 1918. She was appointed by four California Scripps-Howard newspapers to be their Washington, D.C. correspondent in 1923. In this role, she covered the Teapot Dome Oil scandal, the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the authorization of the construction of Hoover Dam. Finney was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1931 for her investigation of the electric and gas utilities industry. In 1941, Finney began writing a weekly column on news, politics and economics for the Scripps-Howard newspapers, titled "Washington Calling". She was an active member of the Washington Press Club. She worked as a correspondent for The Albuquerque Tribune until her retirement in 1968. == Personal life ==

Finney married fellow journalist Robert S. Allen, the co-author for Washington Merry-Go-Round, in 1929. She died on March 20, 1979, in Georgetown at the age of 81. == References ==