| Elmer Davis | |
 Elmer Davis
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| Born | January 13, 1890 Aurora, Indiana |
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| Died | May 18, 1958 |
| Occupation | Director, Office of War Information, World War II |
Elmer Davis (January 13, 1890 - May 18, 1958) was a well-known news reporter, author, the Director of the United States Office of War Information during World War II, and a Peabody Award Recipient. Events 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople. 888 - Odo Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Aurora is a city in Lawrenceburg and Center townships Dearborn County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States Office of War Information (OWI was a US government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services Events 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople. 888 - Odo Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States Office of War Information (OWI was a US government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The George Foster Peabody Awards, better known as simply the Peabody Awards, are annual international awards for excellence in Radio and Television broadcasting
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Education and Early Career
Davis was born in Aurora, Indiana, the son of a cashier for the First National Bank of Aurora. Aurora is a city in Lawrenceburg and Center townships Dearborn County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. One of Davis' first professional writing jobs was with the Indianapolis Star, a position he held while attending Franklin College. The Indianapolis Star is a daily Newspaper which began publishing on June 6, 1903. See also Franklin and Marshall College, Franklin College Switzerland, Franklin College Grimsby and Franklin College of Arts and Sciences A brilliant student, Davis received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford in 1910. Rhodes Scholarship Rhodes scholar redirects here Rhodes Scholar redirects here Rhodes scholars Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, His stay in England was cut short when his father became ill and eventually died. Davis met his wife, Florence, in England.
Upon his return to America, Davis became an editor for Adventure magazine but left a year later to be a reporter and editorial writer for the New York Times. For the next decade, Davis would report on stories ranging from pugilist Jack Dempsey to evangelist Billy Sunday. Jack "Manassa Mauler" Dempsey ( June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983) was an American boxer who held the world William Ashley "Billy" Sunday ( November 19 1862 – November 6 1935) was an American athlete and religious It was his coverage of Billy Sunday that gained him notoriety. Davis later left the Times and became a freelance writer.
In 1928, Davis published his novel Giant Killer, a retelling of the story of David. David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible
The move to radio
In August 1939, Paul White, the news chief at CBS, asked Davis to fill in as a news analyst for H. V. Kaltenborn, who was off in Europe reporting on the increasingly hostile events. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Hans von Kaltenborn ( July 9, 1878 - June 14, 1965) was an American Radio commentator Davis became an instant success. Edward R. Murrow would later comment that one reason he believed that Davis was likeable was his Hoosier accent which reminded people of a friendly neighbor. Edward R Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25 1908 &ndash April 27 1965) was an American journalist Hoosier (ˈhuːʒɚ is the official Demonym for a resident of the U By 1941, the audience for Davis' nightly five-minute newscast and comment was 12. 5 million.
The Office of War Information
Davis spent two and a half years reporting the news on radio and gaining the trust of the nation. Then, in 1941, his colleagues persuaded President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to appoint Davis Director of the newly created United States Office of War Information, a sprawling organization with over 3,000 employees. The United States Office of War Information (OWI was a US government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services Even though Davis was being paid $53,000 per year from CBS, he left the network to work in government during the crisis of World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
As Director of the Office of War Information, Davis recommended to President Roosevelt that Japanese-Americans be permitted to enlist for service in the Army and Navy, and urged him to oppose bills in Congress that would deprive Nisei of citizenship and intern them during the war. are Americans of Japanese heritage Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group Nisei ( 二世, second generation is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America, South America and Australia to specify Japanese American internment refers to the forcible relocation and Internment of approximately 110000 Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans to housing Davis has been termed one of the "unsung forefathers" of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Nisei combat unit in the war. The 442nd Infantry, formerly the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army, was an Asian American unit composed of mostly Japanese [1]
After the War
After World War II, Davis continued his career in radio, using the platform to criticize Senator Joseph McCarthy for his anti-communist investigations. Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14 1908 – May 2 1957 was an American politician who served as a Republican U [2]
Davis was a long-standing member of The Baker Street Irregulars, the literary society dedicated to keeping green the memory of Sherlock Holmes. The Baker Street Irregulars are any of several different groups all named after the original from various Sherlock Holmes stories Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887
Davis was one of the four journalists who portrayed themselves in the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 Black-and-white Science fiction film that tells the story of a humanoid alien visitor who comes
Legacy
Davis was considered to be one of the greatest news reporters of the mid-20th century, on a level with Edward R. Murrow. Among the many awards Davis received were three Peabody Awards, including an award during its inaugural year. Foreign governments also recognized Davis when he was inducted into the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau and the Czechoslovak Order of the White Lion, among others. The Order of Orange-Nassau ( Orde van Oranje-Nassau) is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was first created on 4 April 1892 The Order of the White Lion is the highest order of the Czech Republic, which continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an