Jessamyn West, American author (died 1984)

Mary Jessamyn West was an American author of short stories and novels, notably The Friendly Persuasion (1945). A Quaker from Indiana, she graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1919 and Whittier College in 1923. There she helped found the Palmer Society in 1921. She received an honorary Doctor of Letters (Litt.D) degree from Whittier College in 1946. She received the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize in 1975.

July 18 is the 199th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 166 days remain until the end of the year.