Sheila Michaels, an American feminist who brought the honorific "Ms" into mainstream use, has died aged 78.

Ms Michaels did not invent the term, but is credited with rescuing it from obscurity after she saw it used in an address, thinking it was a typo. "Ms" did not convey a woman's marital status, unlike the traditional options "Mrs" or "Miss". "'Ms' is how you address a woman as a whole person. In a culture where women were identified on the basis of their marital status... [it was a] way to define ourselves as individuals, not subordinates or partners."