Robert Forrest Wilson (January 20, 1883 in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The hi ...

– May 9, 1942 in

Weston, Connecticut Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 census with the highest median household income in Connecticut. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the ...

) was an American author and journalist. He won the

1942 Pulitzer Prize The following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1942. Journalism awards *Public Service: ** ''Los Angeles Times'' for its successful campaign which resulted in the clarification and confirmation for all American newspapers of the right of free press ...

for his biography, ''Crusader in Crinoline: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe''. Wilson was born in

, to parents James Forrest and Harriet Rose (Larned) Wilson. He studied the arts at the

California School of Fine Arts San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximatel ...

in 1939 and received his Ph.D. at

Union Graduate School Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...

. He also studied the arts in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and at Pratt Institute in New York. Early in his career, he worked as reporter, before enlisting in the U.S.Army, where he served as a Captain, worked as a researcher and later served as an Assistant Secretary of War. He co-authored and authored several books and magazine articles.

Career

Wilson reported for Scripps Newspapers from 1910 to 1916, in Washington D.C. Later, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a captain with the US Army Chemical Warfare Service and later (1923-1927) as Assistant Secretary of War charged with gathering historical data on the conflict, much of which formed the basis of a series of six co-authored works about mobilization: ''How America Went to War,'' published in 1921. (See selected works below) After the war, like tens of thousands of Americans, Wilson moved to Paris and lived there for some years, a period which he details in his book, ''Paris On Parade.'' He worked as a European correspondent for

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...

, (1923-1927) writing about life in Paris. Wilson wrote an article about a bookshop in Paris, "Shakespeare and Company," in 1925, titled, ''"Paris for Young Art,"'' published by '' The Bookman.'' Two articles on fashion, "The House of Louisboulanger," and "''The House of Camille Roger,"'' appeared in the 1926 and 1927 issues of

Vogue (magazine) ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vo ...

. Wilson wrote the words and music for the song, "Go and teach the Kaiser how to sing the Marseillaise, then come home to me," published in 1918.

Selected works

* ''How America Went to War: an account from official sources of the nation's war activities 1917–1920'', co-author with Benedict (Crowell Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, 1921. * ''The Road to France: the transportation of troops and military supplies 1917–1918'', co-author with Benedict Crowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, 1921. *''Our Nation's Manufacture of Munitions for a World Arms: 1917–1918,'' co-author with Benedict Crowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, ''1921.'' * ''Demobilization: our industrial and military demobilization after the armistice, 1918–1920,'' co-author with Benedict Cowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, New Haven, 1921. *''The Giant Hand: Our Mobilization and Control of Industry and Natural Resources 1917-1918,'' co-author with Benedict Crowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, New Haven, 1921. *''The Living Pageant of the Nile'', Bobbs Merrill, 1924. *''Paris on Parade'', co-author with A.G. Warshawsky, Bobbs Merrill, Indianapolis, 1925. *''Rich Brat'': ''a novel of Paris,'' Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1929. * ''How to Wine and Dine in Paris (Chapters from "Paris on Parade"),'' Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1930. * ''Crusader in Crinoline: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe'', J.B. Lippincott Company, 1941.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Forrest 1883 births 1942 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American biographers Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners People from Warren, Ohio Writers from Ohio Travel writers Place of death missing American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Journalists from Ohio 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male biographers