Ruth Finney

Ruth Finney Allen (March 6, 1898 – March 20, 1979) was an American journalist. She worked as a reporter for The Sacramento Star and became nationally known for her coverage of the death of President Warren G. Harding. She became the Washington, D.C. correspondent for four Scripps-Howard newspapers.

Early life Finney was born on March 6, 1898, in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents were John W. and Mary Morrison Finney. After growing up in Downieville and Sacramento, California, Finney graduated from the San Jose Normal School with a teaching certificate in 1918 and worked for three months as a substitute teacher. She was appointed by four California Scripps-Howard newspapers to be their Washington, D.C. correspondent in 1923. In this role, she covered the Teapot Dome Oil scandal, the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the authorization of the construction of Hoover Dam. Finney was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1931 for her investigation of the electric and gas utilities industry. She died on March 20, 1979, in Georgetown at the age of 81.