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<p><b>Ann Landers</b> was a pen name created by <i><a href="/pages/w/105530806147374">Chicago Sun-Times</a></i> advice columnist <b>Ruth Crowley</b> in 1943 and taken over by <a href="/pages/w/136967156326172">Esther Pauline "Eppie" Lederer</a> in 1955. For 56 years, the <b>Ask Ann Landers</b> <a href="/pages/w/132978923408021">syndicated</a> <a href="/pages/w/110791915611987">advice column</a> was a regular feature in many newspapers across North America. Owing to this popularity, "Ann Landers", though fictional, became something of a national institution and cultural icon.</p><h2>Ruth Crowley: the original 'Ann Landers' (1943–1955)</h2><p>The creator of the "Ann Landers" pseudonym was Ruth Crowley, a Chicago nurse who had been writing a child-care column for the <i>Sun</i> since 1941. She chose the pseudonym at random—borrowing the surname 'Landers' from a family friend—to prevent confusion between her two columns. Unlike her eventual successor <a href="/pages/w/136967156326172">Esther Lederer</a>, Crowley kept her identity as Landers secret, even enjoining her children to help her keep it quiet. Crowley took a three-year break from writing the column from 1948 until 1951. After 1951, she continued the column for the <i><a href="/pages/w/105530806147374">Chicago Sun-Times</a></i> and in syndication (since 1951) to 26 other newspapers until her death, aged 48, on July 20, 1955. Crowley spent a total of nine years writing advice as "Ann Landers". She also was featured on the television series <i><a href="/pages/w/607779502611227">All About Baby</a></i>.</p><h2>Interim writers (July–October 1955)</h2><p>In the three-month period after Crowley's death, various writers, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Chancellor" class="wikipedia">Connie Chancellor</a>, took over the column.</p><h2>The Esther Lederer years (1955–2002)</h2><p>By including expert advice from authorities, which none of her competitors did, Eppie Lederer won a contest to become the new writer of the column, debuting on October 16, 1955. The column opened with a letter from a "Non-Eligible Bachelor" who despaired of getting married. Her advice was, "You're a big boy now...don't let spite ruin your life." Lederer went on to advise thousands of other readers over the next several decades. Eventually, she became owner of the <a href="/pages/w/105630519470493">copyright</a>.</p>