William Mellors Henry (1890 – 1970) was an American writer and reporter who lived and worked primarily in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He was primarily known for his daily ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' column, "By the Way", which appeared from 1939 to 1971.

Early life

Henry's parents, Margaret Wendell Henry and Dr. John Quincy Adams ("J.Q.A.") Henry, moved their family to Los Angeles in 1907, where Dr. Henry worked as a temperance advocate and pastor of the First Baptist Church of Los Angeles. Henry graduated from

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest Public education#United States, public high school in the Southern California, Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are ...

in 1909, and accompanied his father on a missionary trip to Australia and New Zealand the following year. He attended the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, and eventually enrolled at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

in 1912, playing football and track, and performing in the glee club at Occidental until his graduation in 1914.

Career

In 1912, Henry began reporting on sports for the ''Los Angeles Times'', while at Occidental College. In 1919, he briefly left his position at the ''Times'' and moved his family to Cleveland, where he worked at an aircraft plant with

Glenn L. Martin Glenn Luther Martin (January 17, 1886 – December 5, 1955) was an early American aviation pioneer. He designed and built his own aircraft and was an active pilot, as well as an aviation record-holder. He founded an aircraft company in 1912 whi ...

. He was an aviation enthusiast, and assisted Donald Douglas in establishing the

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

in Los Angeles in 1920. From 1920–1926, Henry served as editor of ''Touring Topics'', a membership magazine produced by the

Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) federation of motor clubs. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first mo ...

. Henry worked as a war correspondent for the ''Times'' from 1939–1942, and reported on sports, political conventions, and presidential travel as a news broadcaster for

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

(MBS),

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

, and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

throughout his career. He was also the president of the

Radio and Television Correspondents' Association The Radio and Television Correspondents' Association of Washington, D.C. (RTCA) is an American broadcast journalism group of news reporters from around the world who cover the United States Congress.

Olympic Games

Henry also served as technical director for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and authored ''An Approved History of the Olympic Games'' (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1948).

Personal life

Henry married Corinne Stanton in 1914, with whom he fathered three daughters. Shortly before his death, Henry was announced as a recipient of the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

, the highest civilian award in the United States. He is a member of the Occidental College Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Works

Popular Culture

''An Approved History of the Olympic Games'' inspired

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which wo ...

to develop the 1981 British historical sports drama film, ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...

''.Goodell, Gregory
''Independent Feature Film Production: A Complete Guide from Concept Through Distribution.''
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1982. p. xvii.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Bill 1890 births 1970 deaths Journalists from California Occidental College alumni American television sports anchors Los Angeles Times people American television sports announcers Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients American war correspondents of World War II American war correspondents Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Date of death missing Place of death missing 20th-century American journalists American male journalists University of Sydney alumni