Friedman, Pauline Esther (1918–)

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Friedman, Pauline Esther (1918–)

American syndicated columnist. Name variations: (pseudonym) Abigail Van Buren; Mrs. Morton Phillips; (nickname) Popo. Born July 4, 1918, in Sioux City, Iowa; dau. of Abraham (motion-picture exhibitor) and Rebecca (Rushall) Friedman; identical twin of Esther Pauline Friedman (Ann Landers); attended Morningside College, Sioux City; m. Morton Phillips (businessman), July 2, 1939; children: Jeanne and Eddie.

Known to millions of readers as columnist Abigail Van Buren, lived in Minneapolis, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and San Francisco, where she devoted spare time to charitable causes and politics; launched her own journalistic career by submitting a sample column to San Francisco Chronicle (1955); enjoyed the same extraordinary success as her sister; wrote such books as Dear Abby (1958), Dear Teen-Ager (1959) and Dear Abby on Marriage (1962).

See also Women in World History.

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