Ruth Reinke Whitney

Ruth Reinke Whitney (July 23, 1928 – June 4, 1999) was an American magazine editor who was editor-of-chief of Glamour from 1967 to 1998. She began her career as a copywriter in the educational department of Time Inc. from 1949 to 1952. After Whitney was fired in part for supporting Adlai Stevenson II during the 1952 United States presidential election, she was made chief copy editor of homemakers magazine Better Living in 1954, and was made its editor-in-chief two years later. Between 1956 and 1967, she worked as associated editor and later executive director of Seventeen magazine.

In the 31 years she was editor of Glamour magazine, Whitney oversaw an increase in readership and advertising revenue, and introduced new features and columns to it. She also put a black model on its front page in 1968, making Glamour the first American mainstream magazine to put an African American on its front cover. Whitney was president of the American Society of Magazine Editors between 1975 and 1977, and was inducted into its Editor's Hall of Fame in 1997.

Early life Whitney was born on July 23, 1928, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She was the third and youngest child of gravestone and mausoleum designer Leonard G. Reinke, and his wife, Helen Diestler Reinke, a homemaker. Whitney grew up in a bungalow in the city, and was taught at Oshkosh High School. After graduating in 1945, when the company moved their offices to New York.

Whitney took up work as chief copy editor of homemakers magazine Better Living in 1954. In September 1997, Condé Nast president Steven Florio assured Whitney she would be allowed to retire when she was ready. and was highly private about her personal life. Whitney was posthumously named a Glamour Woman of the Year in November 1999.