Katherine Graham who died at the age of 84， had a greater influence on 20th-century American history， people from all walks of life were swift and generous in their eulogies① when she died.
In the “man’s world” of serious journalism， Graham， the long-time owner of the Washington Post， was a female pioneer②. Her decision to publish the controversial Pentagon Papers in 1971 ensured that her name would always be linked to the ideals of press freedom.
Katherine Meyer was born in 1917 to a wealthy and privileged family. Her father was a multimillionaire who gave up business and government service to buy the ailing Washington Post in 1933. Katherine shared his love of journalism， and worked on the paper’s editing desk for a few years before getting married.
Her husband， Phil Graham， was a bright young lawyer who took over at the Post in 1945. The couple became a popular part of the Washington social scene. Behind the facade， however， lay a different story. Phil was given to wild mood swings and abusive behavior that caused Katherine a great deal of mental anguish③. He suffered from manic depression， which gradually got worse， culminating in his suicide when Katherine was 46. Suddenly， she found herself in control of the Post.
Despite her personal tragedy， Graham was determined to keep the Washington Post in the family， and took over the day-to-day running of the paper herself. Skeptics who had doubted her ability to make a success of it were dumbfounded④ as her enthusiasm and tenacity proved them wrong.
Graham was never afraid of making a courageous decision. Against the advice of the Post’s lawyers， she sided with her editors and published the Pentagon Papers. The papers were top-secret documents about the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. She later remained steadfast⑤ in the face of government pressure not to pursue the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Graham handed over the control of the Post to her son in 1991， when she was 74 years old. By that time， she was often being described as the most powerful woman in America. Whether or not that was true， few would disagree with the assessment of one of her many admirers， that without her， Washington “would have been a much less civilized place”.
① eulogyn. 颂词，悼词
② pioneern. 先锋，先驱
③ anguishn. 剧烈痛苦
④ dumbfoundedadj. 哑然的
⑤ steadfastadj. 坚定的
凯瑟琳·格拉罕姆
凯瑟琳·格拉罕姆对20世纪的美国历史具有巨大影响，她84岁时与世长辞，那时各界人士都纷纷前往悼念，对其表示敬意。
在由男性主导的严肃的新闻业中，格拉罕姆，这位《华盛顿邮报》的长期业主，是一位女性先驱者。1971年，她决定出版备受争议的《五角大楼文件》，这就确定了她的名字会永远与出版自由的理想联系在一起。
凯瑟琳·梅耶于1917年在一个富裕的特权家庭出生。她的父亲是一位大富豪，他放弃了工作和政府部门的职位，在1933年买下了境况不佳的《华盛顿邮报》。凯瑟琳承袭了父亲对新闻的热爱，婚前在这家报社的编辑部工作了数年。
她的丈夫菲尔·格拉罕姆曾是一位很出色的年轻律师，1945年他接管了华盛顿邮报。夫妇俩成为颇受华盛顿社交届欢迎的一对。然而，他们私下又是另外一种状况。菲尔喜怒无常的情绪变化和虐待行为带给凯瑟琳精神上巨大的痛苦。他深为躁狂抑郁症所苦，病情日渐恶化，最后在凯瑟琳46岁时自杀身亡。突然间，她感到管理邮报的责任落在了自己身上。
尽管个人的境遇悲惨，格拉罕姆仍决心要为家族保住《华盛顿邮报》，她接管了邮报每日的运作。当她以热忱和执着证明了那些曾怀疑她能力不足的人是错误的时候，他们都哑口无言。
格拉罕姆从来不怕果断地作决定。她不听从邮报律师们的劝告，而支持她手下的编辑们发表了《五角大楼文件》，这些文件是有关美国卷入越战的最高机密文件。即使面临政府施加的压力，要她不要再追究后来迫使尼克松总统下台的水门事件之时，她始终立场坚定。
1991年，格拉罕姆74岁时，将掌管邮报的权力移交给了她的儿子。那时她常被形容为美国最有影响的女人。无论这种说法是否正确，相信多数人都会认同她众多仰慕者之一给予的评价：没有她，华盛顿“就会是远不如现在文明的地方”。