Jane Cunningham Croly (1829-1901), known by her pseudonym, Jennie June, was born in Leicestershire, England, and died in New York, New York. Her family emigrated to the United States when she was twelve years old, first settling in Poughkeepsie, New York, and later in Southbridge, Massachusetts. By 1855, she had moved to New York City to seek journalism work. After unsuccessfully applying to several newspapers, she was hired by Noah's Sunday Times, where she wrote a regular women's column focusing on fashion, cooking and the arts. She married David G. Croly, a journalist and editor for the New York Herald, in 1856. Croly was the editor of Demorest's Magazine from 1860 to 1887. She became an editor at New York World in 1862. She was later the founder and editor of Cycle Magazine and editor of Home-Maker Magazine. Her columns were often syndicated on women's pages throughout the United States. She founded the Sorosis club for women in New York City in 1868 and also founded the Woman's Press Club of New York City in 1889, becoming its first president. Croly was often referred to in the press as the "Mother of Women's Clubs". In 1900, she announced that she was retiring from newspaper and club work. She was a staunch believer in equal rights for women, although not an active suffragist, believing that the more important task was to lift women throughout all levels of society, and then all reforms would evolve naturally. Croly was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1994.

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