Elsie Reasoner Ralph

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{short description|First American female war correspondent; sculptor}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Elsie Reasoner Ralph

| image = File:Elsie Reasoner Ralph (died 1913).jpg

| alt = Elsie Reasoner Ralph, War correspondent, sculptor, (April 25, 1878 – April 29, 1913)

| caption =

| birth_name = Elsie Reasoner

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1878|04|25}}

| birth_place = Osborne, Kansas, US

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1913|04|29|1878|04|25}}

| death_place = Lloyd, Florida, US

| other_names = Elsie Ralph

| occupation = War correspondent, sculptor

| years_active = 1898–1913

| known_for = First American female war correspondent

| notable_works =

}}

Elsie Reasoner Ralph (April 25, 1878 – April 29, 1913){{Cite web |author=University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 |title='Elsie Reasoner Ralph', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951 |url=https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1204584769 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703165248/https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1204584769 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |access-date=July 13, 2020}} was an American war correspondent in Cuba{{cite news |work=The Salt Lake Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22223489/elsie-reasoner-first-sl-girl-to-go-to/ |title=Off for Cuba – First Salt Lake girl to go there |access-date=July 13, 2020 |date=June 27, 1898 |page=8 |archive-date=July 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713224614/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22223489/elsie-reasoner-first-sl-girl-to-go-to/ |url-status=live }} and a sculptor.

The first female war correspondent in US history,{{cite web |url=https://www.askart.com/artist/Elsie_Reasoner_Ralph/11176906/Elsie_Reasoner_Ralph.aspx |title=Elsie Reasoner Ralph |publisher=askART |access-date=July 13, 2020 |archive-date=July 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714011624/https://www.askart.com/artist/Elsie_Reasoner_Ralph/11176906/Elsie_Reasoner_Ralph.aspx |url-status=live }} Ralph travelled to Cuba to cover the Spanish–American War under the cover story of being a nursing volunteer.{{cite book| title=The Woman War Correspondent, the U.S. Military, and the Press: 1846–1947 |isbn=978-1498539296 |publisher=Lexington Books |edition=Reprint |date=November 8, 2018 |last=Edy |first=Carolyn M. |access-date=July 13, 2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nwt7DQAAQBAJ&q=%22Elsie+Reasoner%22&pg=PA26 |pages=25–26}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xBcUAAAAIAAJ|title=The Graduate Magazine of the University of Kansas|publisher=University of Kansas|year=1912|page=270|access-date=April 30, 2021|archive-date=March 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329204708/https://books.google.com/books?id=xBcUAAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}{{cite book|author=Carolyn M. Edy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nwt7DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA138|title=The Woman War Correspondent, the U.S. Military, and the Press: 1846–1947|date=13 December 2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4985-3928-9|pages=138–}}

She married Lester Ralph on May 15, 1904, in New York City.{{Cite web |url=https://ochf.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/elsie-reasoner-ralph-1996-inductee/ |title=Elsie (Reasoner) Ralph – 1996 Inductee |date=September 12, 2012 |access-date=July 13, 2020 |publisher=The Osborne County Hall of Fame |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703174014/https://ochf.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/elsie-reasoner-ralph-1996-inductee/ |url-status=live }}

Moving to London, Ralph received the sum of $2,650 for a sculpted sundial, circa 1911.{{Cite news |work=Philadelphia North American |date=January 19, 1911 |title=untitled}}