Martha Gellhorn Blue Plaque

About This Blue Plaque

Martha Gellhorn was a trailblazing war correspondent and writer who fearlessly reported from the front lines of nearly every major conflict of the 20th century. Born in 1908 in St. Louis, Missouri, Gellhorn began her journalism career during the Great Depression, writing about the plight of the unemployed and homeless.

In 1937, Gellhorn traveled to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War, where she met Ernest Hemingway, who would later become her husband. The two collaborated on several projects and lived together in Cuba before their tumultuous marriage ended in divorce in 1945.

Throughout her remarkable career, Gellhorn witnessed and documented some of the most significant events in modern history, including the rise of Hitler in Germany, the D-Day landings in Normandy, and the Vietnam War. Her vivid, empathetic reporting earned her a reputation as one of the greatest war correspondents of her generation. Gellhorn lived and worked in a flat at 72 Cadogan Square in London’s Borough of Westminster, a historic area that has been home to many notable figures over the centuries.

In addition to her journalism, Gellhorn was also an accomplished fiction writer, publishing several novels and short story collections. She continued to work well into her 80s, covering the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 at the age of 81. Gellhorn passed away in 1998, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy of courage, determination, and commitment to telling the stories of those affected by war and social injustice.