Gloria Steinem, the feminist leader who died this week, played a pivotal role in replacing Miss and Mrs. with Ms. Her most formidable opponent was The New York Times and its executive editor, A. M. Rosenthal.

Their decades-long dispute over the honorific is documented in letters stored at the New York Public Library. In a 1973 letter, Steinem argued it was unfair to force women to disclose marital status while men did not. Rosenthal resisted, believing the term had not "passed sufficiently into the language." He argued an "inordinate amount of thought" went into stylistic changes and feared reader objection.

Despite protests outside the newspaper's headquarters on West 43rd Street, Rosenthal held firm for nearly 13 years. Finally, in June 1986, he reversed course, noting "Ms." had become part of the language. Under the new policy, women could select their preferred title.

Notably, Hillary Clinton appeared as Mrs. Clinton. Steinem valued Rosenthal's opinions, and even sent him a preview copy of the first Ms. magazine issue. Rosenthal offered critical feedback, calling the cover a knockoff of New York magazine.

Their exchange highlights a significant cultural shift in language and gender norms, documented in the newspaper's own archives.