Davis, Elmer, 1890-1958, American newspaperman, radio commentator, and author, b. Aurora, Ind. Davis was a Rhodes scholar (1910-13) at Oxford. For 10 years (1914-24) he was on the staff of the New York
Times. In 1939 he became radio news analyst for the Columbia Broadcasting System. He soon became noted for his incisiveness, objectivity, and dry humor. During World War II Davis was (1942-45) director of the Office of War Information. From 1945-53 he was radio news analyst with the American Broadcasting Company. His works include
History of the New York Times (1921), several novels, short stories, and two volumes of essays—
Show Window (1927) and
Not to Mention the War (1940). His later writings include
But We Were Born Free (1954) and
Two Minutes till Midnight (1955).
See R. Burlingame, Don't Let Them Scare You (1961, repr. 1974).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press