MARVIN BRECKINRIDGE PATTERSON

When World War II broke out in 1939, freelance photojournalist Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (b. 1905) took the first pictures of a London air-raid shelter. She was, however, new to radio when friend Edward R. Murrow hired her as the first female staff broadcaster in Europe for CBS. Before her marriage to an American diplomat ended her career in May 1940, Patterson broadcast fifty times from various locations in Europe, including Berlin.

One of only a handful of American women in Europe working in radio, Patterson was among the first correspondents to use a new short-wave transmitter to broadcast on location. Of her early broadcasts, Murrow told Patterson: "Your stuff so far has been first-rate. I am pleased, New York is pleased, and so far as I know the listeners are pleased. If they aren't to hell with them."

Patterson willingly resigned from CBS upon marrying Jefferson Patterson, but hoped to resume her original career in photojournalism. Claiming that her activities would compromise her husband's work in Berlin, the United States Department of State barred her from publication. Even Patterson's unofficial efforts to document prisoner-of-war camps while in the company of her husband ended when German officials objected. Frustrated in her efforts to pursue a separate career, Patterson devoted her energies to the role of diplomatic spouse.

	Frontier Nursing Service Documented [Marvin Breckinridge at work, Middle Fork, Kentucky River, Leslie County, Kentucky], c. 1930 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (21.1)
Early Career in Photojournalism Marvin Breckinridge, "A Frontier Nurse Rides Through the Rain," (one) (two) LIFE, June 14, 1937, pp. 32-33 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (21.2)
London When War Was Declared [image not available online] Letter from Marvin Breckinridge to Isabella Breckinridge, September 17, 1939 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (22)
	First English Air-Raid Shelter Photographs Marvin Breckinridge, [Savoy Hotel guests in shelter], September 3, 1939 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (24)
A Nation Prepared for War Marvin Breckinridge, [Volunteer air-raid wardens], 1939 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (24.1)
	A New Career at the Microphone [Marvin Breckinridge], Amsterdam, c. 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (26)
The Altmark Controversy [image not available online] Cable from Marvin Breckinridge to CBS office, New York, February 22, 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (28)
Eyewitness to a Nazi Burial Marvin Breckinridge, [Funeral of Altmark seamen], February 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (29)
Live Interview with Altmark Captain [image not available online] Marvin Breckinridge, radio script, February 19, 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (30)
State Department Disapproval of Publication [image not available online] Letter from Jefferson Patterson to G. Howland Shaw, October 6, 1941; letter from G. Howland Shaw to Jefferson Patterson, October 13, 1941 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (31a and 31b)
German Censors Recorded Every Word [image not available online] Marvin Breckinridge, radio script, February 8, 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (32)
	Wartime Wedding, June 1940 The bride and groom telephone their families in the U.S. Wedding photographs, June 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (121)
Marriage Meant Career Crossroads [image not available online] Wedding Poem, June 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (121.1)
Official CBS Correspondent Press credential for Marvin Breckinridge, December 6, 1939 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (123)
Breckinridge Used Human Details to Illuminate War Stories [image not available online] Marvin Breckinridge, notebook, c. 1939 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (133)
	Breckinridge at Work in Holland [Marvin Breckinridge], c. 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (124)
Press Credentials for Overseas Assignments Press passes for France and Germany; Black Star identity card, c. 1940 Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (134a-d)

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Eight Who Came to the Front: Therese Bonney - Toni Frissell - Marvin Breckinridge Patterson
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