White William Allen

Photo White William Allen
William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was a renowned American newspaper editor, politician, and author. Between World War I and World War II White became the iconic middle American spokesman for thousands throughout the United States. Born in Emporia, Kansas, White moved to El Dorado with his parents, Allen and Mary Ann Hatten White, where he spent the majority of his childhood.[1] [2] He attended the College of Emporia and University of Kansas and in 1892 started work at The Kansas City Star as an editorial writer. White purchased his hometown newspaper, the Emporia Gazette for $3,000 in 1895.[2] He rocketed to national fame and influence in the Republican Party with an August 16, 1896, editorial entitled "What's the Matter With Kansas?"[3] The paper is still run by the descendants of White. White developed a friendship with President Theodore Roosevelt in the 1890s until Roosevelt's death in 1919. Roosevelt spent several nights at White's Wight and Wight-designed home, Red Rocks, during trips across the United States. The house is now a museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places. White was to say later, "Roosevelt bit me and I went mad."[4] The two would be instrumental in forming the Progressive (Bull-Moose) Party in 1912 in opposition to the forces surrounding incumbent Republican president William Howard Taft.[5] Later, White supported much of the New Deal, however, opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt in the three of Roosevelt's four elections as president, as White died before voting in the election of 1944. White married Sallie Lindsay in 1893. They had two children, William Lindsay, born in 1900, and a daughter Mary, born in 1904. Mary died in a 1921 horse-riding accident, leading White to write a famous eulogy "Mary White" on August 17, 1921.[6][7] The last quarter century of White's life was spent as an unofficial national spokesman for middle America. This led President Franklin Roosevelt to ask White to help generate public support for the Allies before America's entrance into World War II. White was fundamental in the formation of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, sometimes known as the White Committee.[8] White spent much of his last three years involved with this committee. Sometimes referred to as the Sage of Emporia, he continued to write editorials for the Gazette until his death in 1944. He was also a founding editor for the Book of the Month Club along with long time friend Dorothy Canfield. He won a 1923 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial "To an Anxious Friend", published July 27, 1922, after being arrested in a dispute over free speech following objections to the way the state of Kansas handled the men who participated in the Great Railroad Strike of 1922. Objecting to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the state, he made an unsuccessful run for Kansas Governor in 1924. White was an early supporter of the Progressive Party led by Robert M. La Follette, Sr. His autobiography, which was published posthumously, won a 1946 Pulitzer Prize. Life described him: The University of Kansas Journalism School is named for him. There are also two awards the William Allen White Foundation has created: The William Allen White Award for outstanding Journalistic merit and The Children's Book Award. From editorial Mary White: From 1933 editorial about the futility of war (referring to World War I): From an editorial published in February 1943, shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt returned from the Casablanca Conference with Winston Churchill: White had 23 works published throughout his life. Many of these works were collections of short stories, magazine articles, or speeches he gave throughout his long career.
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Name:

White William Allen

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3.42/5 (38)

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12 books | 0 series

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