Ida Tarbell, Muckraker Extraordinaire

Ida M. Tarbell

  Muckraker: Reform journalists in the the 1900's who commonly wrote for magazines and were largely renowned for their investigative reporting, These individuals were knwon for digging for the truth, which many people were not informed of; scandals like the deaths of miners who were never reported dead fpr example, or the shady business dealings of big name companies back then. The great thing about them is they are gender blind. Now, in history, not many women are noted for their accomplishments or their assists in major findings; this woman, Ida Tarbell, was one of the majestic few who was.
    Ida Minerva Tarbell was a Pennsylvania native, born in November of 1857 in her mother's father's home. She grew up in Titsuville, where she eventually graduated as valedictorian from her high school; she went on to Allegheny College and became a graduate in 1880. It was in her early years that she first encountered the oil schemes that affected her father's small business and eventually guided her to her destiny. Her journey through magazines and written publications for individuals such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Abraham Lincoln led her to becoming a majorly known author. She began her research on the Standard Oil trust at the turn of the century and in 1902 began interviewing those closest to the company. She dug up dirt on John D. Rockefeller and his suspicious business practices, eventually uncovering a whole scheme behind this multi-millionaire. Her investigative report of Rockefeller and profile of him were one of the first, which gained her a title of pioneer in investigative journalism as well as recognition as one of the first female muckrakers, although she disliked the name.
    Tarbell lived until she was 86 years old, dying in 1944. She died of pneumonia in a Bridgeport hospital in Connecticut. Her legacy includes the Ida Tarbell House, a national landmark as well as an induction in the National Women's Hall of Fame; this was done at Seneca Falls.