Kate Field (1838 - 1896)

Kate Field (October 1, 1838 – May 19, 1896), born Mary Katherine Keemle Field, was an American journalist, lecturer, and actress, of eccentric talent. Biography She was born in St. Louis, Mo., the daughter of Joseph M. Field, was educated in New England and in England, and prolonged her stay in Europe as correspondent of various American newspapers, writing also for magazines. On her return she gave lectures and public readings and in 1874 appeared as Peg Woffington at Booth's Theatre, New York. She afterward abandoned the regular comedy for dance, song, and recitation, but achieved no striking success. In 1882-83 she headed a Coöperative Dress Association in New York, which achieved a conspicuous failure. In 1889 she established Kate Field's Washington, a weekly journal published in the capital. After 1868 she published numerous volumes of miscellaneous contents, no longer noteworthy.