Samantha Smith

Samantha Reed Smith (June 29, 1972–August 25, 1985) was an American schoolgirl from Manchester, Maine who was called America's Youngest Ambassador in the United States and the Goodwill Ambassador in the Soviet Union during her lifetime. She became famous in these two countries and well-known worldwide after writing a letter to the Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Yuri Andropov during the Cold War and receiving a reply from Andropov which included a personal invitation to visit the Soviet Union, which Smith accepted. Assisted by extensive mass media attention in both countries, she participated in peacemaking activities in some other countries after her visit to the Soviet Union, wrote a book and co-starred in a television series before her death in an airplane crash.

References

• Arthur and Samantha Smith: Journey to the Soviet Union, Little Brown and Co., 1985. 1st ed. ISBN 0316801763.
• Anne Galicich: Samantha Smith: A Journey for Peace, Minneapolis Dillon Press, Inc., 1987. ISBN 0875183670