Clara E. Laughlin

Clara Elizabeth Laughlin (August 3, 1873 – March 3, 1941) was an American writer, editor and radio personality.^[1] She was born in New York City and lived in Chicago.

Laughlin circa 1907

Biography

Clara Elizabeth Laughlin was born on August 3, 1873, in New York City.^[2] She graduated from North Division High School in 1890.^[3][4] She wrote more than 35 books. These included biographies of Sarah Bernhardt, Ferdinand Foch, and James Whitcomb Riley, in addition to an autobiography and several novels. She wrote articles for the Ladies Home Journal, and a series of travel books called "So you're going to." Her 1925 guide to Rome was one of the first publications to mention the pasta dish that would eventually become known as Fettuccine Alfredo (the only known earlier mention is in Sinclair Lewis's 1922 novel Babbit).^[5][6]

Laughlin also headed Clara E. Laughlin's Travel Service, which had offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Paris, and she published a monthly magazine with circulation of more than 80,000. For three years, she gave travelogues on a radio station in Chicago.^[7]

Laughlin died on March 3, 1941, in Chicago.^[4]

Papers

Laughlin's papers are held by Smith College and were donated by her nieces.^[3]