Linda White was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She graduated from Prince of Wales Collegiate in 1967 and then attended the Grace Hospital School of Nursing for three years. Following graduation she worked as a Registered Nurse in the United States and England before returning to Newfoundland to attend Memorial University. She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in History and a Master of Arts degree in History.
In 1990 she began working in the Archives and Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University. Presently she holds the position of Archivist there. The Archives holds an extensive collection of original manuscripts, personal papers, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs and other such materials which document various aspects of Newfoundland society. Major collections include literary, labour, theatre and the performing arts, women, Newfoundland politics and social organizations and activities.
For many years she wrote a regular column for the Newfoundland Quarterly called “Archival Notes” which features a collection from the Archives. She is the editor of the quarterly historical journal, The Greenspond Letter which she began in 1994. In 2012 she co-authored “The Law at Greenspond” with Chris Curran in The Face of Justice on Newfoundland’s Northeast Coast that was published by the NL Law Society Daisy Committee.
In 2017 she was awarded the Historic Sites of Newfoundland and Labrador “Manning Award: Outstanding Heritage Supporter”: Linda White, recognized for her great personal contributions to preserving the history of Greenspond.