Collection Summary
Clark, Sonia Tomara, 1897-
Sonia Tomara Clark papers
1935-1979
07219
2.21 cubic feet (4 boxes)
University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
English
Sonia Tomara Clark (1897-1982) was a Russian-born journalist and war correspondent, regarded as the first female war correspondent of World War II.
This collection contains photographs, newspaper articles, and newspaper scrapbooks related to her work as a war correspondent, as well as some of her personal and professional correspondence.
Biography of Sonia Tomara Clark
Sonia Tomara Clark (1897-1982) was a Russian-born journalist and war correspondent, regarded as the first female war correspondent of World War II. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, to Michael and Olga Tomara,
she earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Moscow University for Women before fleeing to France with her mother during the Russian Revolution in 1920. In France, she worked as a political reporter
and editor for Le Matin until 1928, when she joined the New York Herald Tribune. During her tenure, Tomara reported on the German invasion of Poland,
the fall of France, and significant campaigns across India, Burma, China, and the Middle East. She also covered the Tehran Conference in 1943 and returned to Europe to report on the Normandy campaign, the liberation
of Paris, and the Seventh Army’s advance through Alsace. Tomara retired in 1947 following her marriage to William Clark. She passed away in September 1982 at the age of 85, a month after suffering a stroke.
Scope and Content
This collection contains correspondence related to Sonia Tomara Clark’s personal and professional lives, as well as photographs of Italy between 1935 and 1936, and a photograph of Clark in her correspondent
uniform during the liberation of Paris in September of 1944. Also included are film strips related to Sonia, Italy, and Mussolini and newspaper articles by Sonia, some of which she made into scrapbooks.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes,
and the collection is open to the public.
Copyright Information
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
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There are no known other archival collections created by Sonia Tomara Clark at the date of processing.
The collection was received from Sonia Tomara Clark in 1979 and from Olga Bassine in 1984.
The collection was processed by Brittany Heye in January of 2025.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection
Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Access Terms
Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945.
Journalism -- Italy.
Journalism -- Poland.
Journalism -- India.
Journalism -- China.
Journalism -- Great Britain.
Journalism -- Germany.
Journalism -- Balkan Peninsula.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Journalists.
Italy -- History -- 1914-1945.
Poland -- History -- 1918-1945.
India -- History -- 20th century.
China -- History -- 1937-1945.
Great Britain -- History -- 20th century.
Germany -- History -- 1945-1955.
Balkan Peninsula -- History -- 1918-1945.
Women journalists.
New York herald tribune.
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Journalism
Politics, Government, and Law
Military
Container List
1Correspondence1940-1979
4Film Strips - Sonia Tomara, Italy, and Benito Moussolini1935-1945
1Newspaper clippings- articles by Sonia Tomara 1942-1979
1Photographs - Italy1935-1936
1Photographs - Lee (from Paris in 1945)1945
1Photographs - Sonia Tomara in Paris after Liberation (in her correspondent uniform)September 1944
2Scrapbook - #1 Italy 1935-1937
2Scrapbook - #2 Rome, th Hague London tours1937
2Scrapbook - #3 France, New York, Algiers1939-1940, 1943-1944
2Scrapbook - #4 New York 1940-1942
2Scrapbook - #5 London, Algiers, Paris 1944
3Scrapbook - #6 London, Paris, Germany1944-1945, 1947-1948
3Scrapbook - #7 China, Burma, India Theatre 1942-1943
3Scrapbook - newspaper articles written by Sonia Tomara (2 books)1942-1979