Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. (March 17, 1911 – February 18, 2001) was an American journalist and author. He co-authored, with his sister

Ernestine Ernestine is a feminine given name. Ernest is the male counterpart of this name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernestine Anderson (1928–2016), American jazz and blues singer * Ernestine Bayer (1909–2006), American athlete * Ernestine ...

, the autobiographical bestsellers ''

Cheaper by the Dozen ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestsel ...

'' (1948; which was adapted as a 1950 film) and ''

Belles on Their Toes ''Belles on Their Toes'' is a 1950 autobiographical book written by the siblings Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. It is the follow-up to their book ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (1948), which covered the period after Frank Gil ...

'' (1950; which was adapted as a 1952 film). Under his own name, he wrote multiple additional books, such as ''Time Out for Happiness'' and ''Ancestors of the Dozen'', and a long-running newspaper column.

Early life and education

Gilbreth was born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

, the fifth child (and first boy) of the 12 children born to efficiency experts

Frank Bunker Gilbreth Frank Bunker Gilbreth (July 7, 1868 – June 14, 1924) was an American engineer, consultant, and author known as an early advocate of scientific management and a pioneer of time and motion study, and is perhaps best known as the father and c ...

and

Lillian Moller Gilbreth Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth (; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s ...

, and grew up in the family home in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. ...

, where he attended Montclair High School. Gilbreth graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he served as editor of the college newspaper, ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...

''.

Career

During World War II, he served as a naval officer in the South Pacific, participated in three invasions in the Admiralty Islands and the Philippines, and was decorated with two air medals and a bronze star. In 1947, he relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, where he returned to ''

The Post and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

'' (the city's main daily newspaper), as an editorial writer and columnist; under the

nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Ashley Cooper, he wrote a long-running column, ''Doing the Charleston'', which ran until 1993. He retired from ''The Post and Courier'' in 2001, as assistant publisher and vice president. He and his older sister,

, wrote the bestselling books ''

'' (1948; adapted as a 1950 film) and its sequel ''

'' (1950; adapted as a 1952 film), which were largely

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

. On his own, he also wrote about fatherhood in the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

"baby boom", and about family members.

Personal life

Gilbreth was married twice, to Elizabeth Cauthen (until her death in 1954), with whom he had a daughter (Elizabeth G. Cantler), and then to Mary Pringle Manigault (1955-2001), with whom he had two children (Dr. Edward M. Gilbreth and Rebecca G. Herres).

Death

Gilbreth died in 2001, aged 89, in Charleston, South Carolina, where he had lived for the preceding half century. At the time, he also maintained the family home in

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a Consolidated city-county, combined county/town government t ...

, which his father had bought in 1921.

Publications

Gilbreth's published books include: * (with

Ernestine Gilbreth Carey Ernestine Moller Gilbreth, Mrs. Carey (April 5, 1908 – November 4, 2006) was an American writer. Early life and education Ernestine Moller Gilbreth was born in New York City on April 5, 1908. She was the daughter of Frank B. and Lillian ...

) *''I'm a Lucky Guy'', 1951 * (with

) *''Held's Angels'', with John Held (illustrator), 1952 *''Innside Nantucket'', 1954 *''Of Whales and Women'', 1956 *''How To Be a Father'', 1958 *''Loblolly'', 1959 *''He's My Boy'', 1962 *''Time Out for Happiness'', 1970 *''Ashley Cooper's Doing the Charleston'', 1993

References

External links

* , comprehensive family and professional history. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbreth, Frank Jr. 1911 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American male novelists United States Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from New Jersey Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey Writers from Plainfield, New Jersey Writers from Charleston, South Carolina United States Navy officers University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New Jersey Novelists from South Carolina 20th-century American non-fiction writers The Michigan Daily alumni