Q&A on the News

With the recent shootings at the high school in Florida, the name of the school is Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Is that an actual person? If so, what is the history behind that particular school being named after that person? —Kenneth Riley, College Park

A: Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a conservationist and environmental activist known for her work in preserving the Florida Everglades.

According to the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Douglas was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1890, and moved to Florida in 1915, where she was a society columnist at the paper that would ultimately become the Miami Herald.

Douglas became known for her short stories and commentaries on feminism, social justice and environmental preservation over the following three decades. In 1947, she published “The Everglades: River of Grass,” which is considered to be her landmark work on conservation and was released in the same year that Everglades National Park was established.

These efforts, along with Douglas’ founding of the Friends of the Everglades organization in 1969, ultimately led to national attention and care for the region. In 1993, President Bill Clinton awarded the conservationist a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in protecting the Everglades.

Douglas died in 1998. Her cottage in the Coconut Grove community in Miami is preserved by the state, with the National Park Service memorializing her as the “Defender of the Everglades.” In 1990, Broward County opened Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Q&A on the News runs Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Dillon Thompson of Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-2222002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).