Marvin Breckinridge Patterson

Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (October 2, 1905December 11, 2002), was an American photojournalist, cinematographer, and philanthropist. She used her middle name, Marvin, both professionally and personally to distinguish herself from her cousin Mary Breckinridge (founder of the Frontier Nursing Service) and to avoid the prejudice against women that was prevalent at the time. Family and marriage Mary Marvin Breckinridge was born on October 2, 1905, in New York City, to John C. Breckinridge, of the prominent Kentucky Breckinridge family, and Isabella Goodrich Breckinridge, daughter of B. F. Goodrich. Her great-grandfather, John C. Breckinridge, was Vice President of the United States under James Buchanan, a Confederate general and Confederate Secretary of War. Her godmother and cousin was Isabella Selmes Greenway, Arizona's first Congresswoman. While broadcasting for the CBS World News Roundup in Berlin, Marvin met Jefferson Patterson. They married on June 20, 1940. Education When she was young, Marvin's family moved around a fair amount, and she attended "twelve schools before graduating from Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts" before eventually enrolling at Vassar College in 1923.