Archive · 6 Sep 2026
Poet and Feminist Robin Morgan Dies at 85
Robin Morgan was famous as a child actor before becoming an important feminist writer and activist.
She helped organize a protest against the Miss America pageant in 1968.
She also edited a book called “Sisterhood Is Powerful,” which became an important feminist text.
Morgan wrote poems, essays, memoirs and more than 20 books.
She was widely credited with creating the word “herstory.”
She worked with activists including Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda.
Together, they helped start the Women’s Media Center.
Morgan had Parkinson’s disease but continued working for many years.
She died in New York at age 85 after several recent health problems.
Robin Morgan, a former child star who became a poet, writer and second-wave feminist, died in New York at 85.
She helped organize the first protest against the 1968 Miss America pageant and edited the influential anthology “Sisterhood Is Powerful.”
Morgan was widely credited with coining “herstory” and popularizing the clenched-fist feminist symbol.
She co-founded the Women’s Media Center with Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda and remained active after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Morgan wrote more than 20 books, hosted a syndicated radio show and continued producing poetry until her death.
- Who
- Robin Morgan, a poet, author, editor and feminist activist, died; her son Blake Morgan confirmed the death.
- What
- Morgan died at age 85 after a career spanning child entertainment, poetry, feminist writing and activism.
- When
- She died on a Saturday, after suffering health problems in the preceding weeks.
- Where
- She died in New York; she was born in Lake Worth, Florida, and raised in New York.
- Why
- Her son said she had experienced a series of health problems in recent weeks.
- Age at death
- 85
- Birth
- 1941 in Lake Worth, Florida
- Major feminist work
- Edited “Sisterhood Is Powerful” in 1970
- Activist milestone
- Helped organize the first protest against the Miss America pageant in 1968
- Major terminology
- Widely credited with coining “herstory”
- Organizations founded or co-founded
- New York Radical Women, the Sisterhood Is Global Institute and the Women’s Media Center
- Health
- Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 16 years before her death