White, William Lindsay, 1900-1973

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American journalist.

From the description of Report on the Krauts : typescript, ca. 1945-1947. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 86130592

Author.

From the description of They were expendable : literary manuscript, 1942. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79899453

Biographical/Historical Note

American journalist.

From the guide to the William Lindsay White typescript : Report on the Krauts, 1945-1947, (Hoover Institution Archives)

William Lindsay White was born at Emporia, Kansas on June 17, 1900 to William Allen and Sallie (Lindsay) White. He attended the University of Kansas and Harvard University, graduating from Harvard in 1924. White then joined the newspaper staff of his father's Emporia Gazette, and was named its associate editor in December 1927. He was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1930, and on April 29, 1931 married Kathrine Klinkenberg. His first book, What People Said, was published in 1938.

In 1939, White became a war correspondent for Reader's Digest, writing a daily syndicated column and issuing weekly CBS radio broadcasts from the Finno-Russian front. He won 1939's National Headliners Club citation for best European broadcast. In 1941, the Whites adopted their daughter Barbara, a London war orphan who was the subject of White's popular book of that year titled Journey for Margaret .

With his father's death in January 1944, White became editor of the Emporia Gazette. The following summer, he toured Soviet Russia as a correspondent for the Reader's Digest and the North American Newspaper Alliance. His resulting 1945 book ( Report on the Russians ), ignited controversy for its criticisms of Soviet Russia in a period of emphasis on American-Soviet friendship.

In 1946, White brought to publication his late father's autobiography, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1947. He remained a prolific author in his own right, producing a total of thirteen books, over ninety magazine pieces, and several thousand signed newspaper commentaries. Three of his books were adapted for the screen and released as motion pictures. White died at Emporia on July 26, 1973.

William Allen White(1868-1944)

William Allen White was born at Emporia, Kansas, on February 10, 1868, to Dr. Allen White and Mary Ann (Hatten) White. The family soon moved to El Dorado, Kansas. After graduating high school, White attended the College of Emporia, and then the University of Kansas. He left the University for newspaper work, first in El Dorado, and later with the Kansas City Journal and the Kansas City Star .

On April 27, 1893, White married Kansas City schoolteacher Sallie Moss Lindsay. In 1895, they moved from Kansas City to Emporia, where White purchased the Emporia Gazette . White became nationally known for his grass roots social and political editorials, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1923. He authored many articles and books, including a Woodrow Wilson biography and two Calvin Coolidge biographies, and was a regular contributor to journals such as the Saturday Evening Post . He was also a co-founder of the Reader's Digest Book of the Month Club and a lifetime member of its editorial board. White was active and influential in state and national politics of the Republican Party, and was National Committeeman of the Progressive Party under Theodore Roosevelt.

The Whites had two children--son William Lindsay and daughter Mary Katherine. Born in 1904, Mary White died in a horse-riding accident at age sixteen. White's moving editorial in her memory was carried nationally and became one of his best-known writings. William Allen White died on January 29, 1944 at Emporia.

Sallie Moss (Lindsay) White(1869-1950)

Sallie Moss (Lindsay) White was born on December 3, 1869 in Nicholasville, Kentucky to Joseph Moss Lindsay and Frances (Batcheldor) Lindsay. Her family moved to Kansas City, Kansas when she was eight. She became a schoolteacher at age sixteen and married William Allen at age twenty-three. In her marriage, she served as full partner and advisor in her husband's professional life. Sallie White died at Emporia on December 19, 1950, at the age of eighty-one.

Dr. Allen White (1819-1882) and Mary Ann (Hatten) White (1830-1924).

Allen White was born on April 20, 1819, near the community of Norwalk in Huron County, Ohio. He attended medical school at Ohio State Medical College, Columbus, took post-graduate study, and moved to Kansas in 1859, where he practiced medicine and eventually settled in the town of Emporia. On April 15, 1867, he married Mary Ann Hatten, a local schoolteacher. Born on January 3, 1830 at Oswego, New York to Thomas and Ann (Kelly) Hatten, Mary Ann Hatten had been orphaned in childhood, and had worked her way through Galesburg, Illinois' Knox College. In her first teaching appointment at Council Grove, Kansas, she earned notoriety for defying the law and opening her class to African American students.

Soon after their son William Allen was born in 1868, the Whites moved to El Dorado, Kansas, where Allen White operated a drug store, engaged in farming for a time, and from 1879 to 1881 operated their home as a hotel, called "The White House." Allen White died at El Dorado on October 4, 1882. Mary Ann (Hatten) White died at Emporia in 1924.

From the guide to the William Lindsay White Collection, 1815-1983, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn John Phillips Marquand correspondence Houghton Library
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. The time of our lives ; Escape from fear National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. Remagen bridge is falling down ; No turning back National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. Request for danger ; The harvesters in hell National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Haynes, Lacy (Lacy C.), 1888-1951. Correspondence, 1926-1950. Kansas State Historical Society
referencedIn John Mason Brown papers, 1922-1967. Houghton Library
creatorOf White, William Lindsay, 1900-1973. [William Lindsay White collection]. University of Kansas Archives / MSS / Rare Books, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. Goldie, the beef boat ; The god that failed National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Bill Mauldin Papers, 1941-1970 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Sherman, Jean. Letters received concerning Spanish Civil War writers auction, 1936-1949 (bulk 1938-1939). Pennsylvania State University Libraries
creatorOf White, William Lindsay, 1900-1973. They were expendable: manuscript, 1938. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967. Letters of tribute to Carl Sandburg [manuscript], 1951-1952. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. Fighting ghosts ; So much to remember National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Phyllis A. Lawton collection, 1915-1951 University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kanas Collection
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. Something to write about ; Freedom's laughter National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. The battle of the hedgerows ; The question of true liberty National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Ruth Fischer papers, 1925-1961 (inclusive) 1940-1961 (bulk) Houghton Library
creatorOf White, William Lindsay, 1900-1973. Letter to Wilbur Schramm. Emporia, KS. 1944 Nov. 13. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn University of Kansas. William Allen White School of Journalism and Public Information. [William Allen White collection] University of Kansas Archives / MSS / Rare Books, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
referencedIn William Allen White collection, 1890-1970 University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kanas Collection
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. The long rifle ; The long night National Archives at College Park
creatorOf White, William Lindsay, 1900-1973. Report on the Krauts : typescript, ca. 1945-1947. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn The Nation, records, 1879-1974 (inclusive), 1920-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf They were expendable : manuscript, 1938 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn White, William Allen, 1868-1944. Letters, 1889-1945. Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. The commander packs a satchel ; The little wheels National Archives at College Park
creatorOf White, William Lindsay, 1900-1973. They were expendable : literary manuscript, 1942. Library of Congress
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. Fiske's folly ; A dream is worth waiting for National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. One man's ability ; Case number 876 National Archives at College Park
creatorOf William Lindsay White typescript : Report on the Krauts, 1945-1947 Hoover Institution Archives
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. Flight over Gettysburg ; Decision National Archives at College Park
referencedIn American Council for Judaism. Records, 1943-1988. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. And the band played on ; The treadmill National Archives at College Park
referencedIn William Allen White Papers, 1859-1944, (bulk 1899-1944) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Lawton, Phyllis A. [Phyllis A. Lawton collection]. University of Kansas Archives / MSS / Rare Books, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
creatorOf William Lindsay White Collection, 1815-1983 University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kanas Collection
referencedIn Gannett, Lewis, 1891-1966. Papers, 1681-1966 (bulk 1900-1960) Houghton Library
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Audio Recordings. 1945 - 1965. All out for Mickey ; As the preacher saith National Archives at College Park
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith American Council for Judaism. corporateBody
correspondedWith Brown, John Mason, 1900-1969 person
associatedWith Coolidge, Calvin, 1872-1933. person
associatedWith Dos Passos, John, 1896-1970. person
associatedWith Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969. person
associatedWith Emporia gazette (Emporia, Kan.: 1899) corporateBody
associatedWith Ferber, Edna, 1887-1968. person
correspondedWith Fischer, Ruth, 1895- person
correspondedWith Gannett, Lewis, 1891-1966 person
associatedWith Haynes, Lacy (Lacy C.), 1888-1951. person
associatedWith Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964. person
associatedWith Hulbert, Mary Allen, b. 1862. person
associatedWith Landon, Alfred M. (Alfred Mossman), 1887-1987. person
associatedWith Lawton, Phyllis A. person
associatedWith Lawton, Phyllis A. person
correspondedWith Marquand, John P. (John Phillips), 1893-1960 person
associatedWith Mauldin, Bill, 1921-2003. person
correspondedWith Nation (New York, N.Y. : 1865). corporateBody
associatedWith Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994. person
associatedWith Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967. person
associatedWith Schramm, Wilbur, 1907-1987, person
associatedWith Sherman, Jean. person
associatedWith University of Kansas. William Allen White School of Journalism and Public Information. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Kansas. William Allen White School of Journalism and Public Information. (compiler) corporateBody
associatedWith Wallace, DeWitt, 1889-1981. person
associatedWith White, Allen, 1819-1882. person
associatedWith White family. family
associatedWith White family. family
associatedWith White, Mary Ann Hatten, 1832-1924. person
associatedWith White, Sallie Lindsay, 1869-1950. person
associatedWith White, William Allen, 1868-1944. person
associatedWith Willkie, Wendell L. (Wendell Lewis), 1892-1944. person
associatedWith Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Germany History 1945-1955.
Germany
Kansas
United States
Subject
War correspondents
War correspondents
Journalists
Journalists
Journalists
Literature
Military government
Public opinion
Public opinion Germany
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945
Occupation
Authors
Activity

Person

Birth 1900-06-17

Death 1973-07-26

English

Information

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