David Lawrence (December 25, 1888, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania – February 11, 1973, in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

) was a conservative newspaperman.

Early career

He attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

(Class of 1910). While there, he was a student of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. In 1916, he became the Washington correspondent of the ''

New York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established i ...

''. After his re-election as U.S. President, President

fired Irish-American White House secretary (chief of staff)

Joseph Patrick Tumulty Joseph Patrick Tumulty (pronounced TUM-ulty; May 5, 1879 – April 9, 1954) was an American attorney and politician from New Jersey. He was a leader of the Irish Catholic political community. He is best known for his service from 1911 until 1921 ...

in 1916 to placate anti-Catholic sentiment, particularly from his wife and his advisor, Colonel

Edward M. House Edward Mandell House (July 26, 1858 – March 28, 1938) was an American diplomat, and an adviser to President Woodrow Wilson. He was known as Colonel House, although his rank was honorary and he had performed no military service. He was a highl ...

. Then, Lawrence successfully interceded on Tumulty's behalf to remain.

Political views

During the presidency of

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, David Lawrence criticised the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

in his 1934 book ''Beyond the New Deal''. His observation of economic activity led him to distinguish between

free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ...

and

corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

, and he wrote, "Theoretically, corporations are creations of the state." He sharply criticised the use of the

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

against Japan, comparing it to the gas chambers of Nazi concentration camps, and he maintained that the United States had become guilty and needed to apologize to the world.

Publisher

In 1926, Lawrence founded ''

United States Daily ''United States Daily'' (1926–1933) was an American newspaper founded in Washington, DC, by publisher David Lawrence. History ''United States Daily'' started on March 4, 1926, noted ''Time (magazine)'' (a rival national news publication), wh ...

'', a weekly newspaper devoted to covering government. Seven years later, he shut it down to start ''United States News'' for an audience of community leaders, businessmen, and politicians. In 1948, ''United States News'' merged with Lawrence's two-year-old weekly magazine, ''World Report'', to form the news magazine '' U.S. News & World Report''. At the time of his death, the magazine had a circulation of two million.

Death

He died of an apparent heart attack at his

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, Florida, home.

Awards

On April 22, 1970, David Lawrence was presented with 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 ...

by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Personal life

Lawrence married Ellanor (Campbell Hayes Daly) Lawrence on July 17, 1918, and they had three children, David Jr., Mark, Nancy. Etienne was a daughter from a previous marriage. Ellanor died June 13, 1969. To honor her memory, in 1971 David Lawrence gave

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, the land that became

Ellanor C. Lawrence Park Ellanor C. Lawrence Park is located in Chantilly, Virginia, just north of Centreville, on Route 28. The park preserves the cultural and natural resources of western Fairfax County and has a long and complex history lasting 8,000 years. The land wa ...

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

References

External links

David Lawrence Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University

Short biography

The American Presidency Project - ''Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Eight Journalists - April 22, 1970''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, David American magazine founders American magazine publishers (people) 1888 births 1973 deaths Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Writers from Philadelphia People from Sarasota, Florida